X23, Merc with a Mind
by Ghouse89
Summary: Something happens. An event of staggering improbability! Actually it's just Deadpool and his voices becoming guest's in Laura's mind for the forseeable future. Will they eventually bond or hate each other? Kind of an X-23/Deadpool X-over. Maybe some Helix
1. Chapter 1

_I swear to you all…if you try this fic, you will like it. If you're the humorous type, anyway. I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a while now, and I just had to put it down and see if it works. It's essentially Laura (X-23) running around with Deadpool as a voice in her head. I figured it wouldn't work with just anyone; it had to be an odd couple sort of pairing. Hence the use of Laura Kinney. Hopefully, I'll still be true to her character and I won't break the fourth wall as often as you'd think. The key is the timing and subtlety. Also, it may be a Helix story. Or not. Ask nicely and I may consider it. Let's start this show!_

_**Chapter One: What the…Fudge!**_

Laura snarled as she leapt at a man pointing a gun at her, slicing the gun into pieces as well as slashing the man's midsection in rapid succession. Completing the action by executing a perfect tuck and roll, she came to a crouching position a few feet away from man, who was now lying on the floor, screaming and clutching his bloody stomach. People seemed to be running past quite slowly toward the exit behind her, but she knew it was due to the adrenaline pumping through her blood at the moment. She took a quick assessment of her surroundings before attempting anything further. There were six men in total—not counting the one she had just put down—who all held automatic weapons, and their assumed leader had forcedly taken the bank manager into the safe approximately 10.6 seconds ago. Three of the men were at the moment, unsuccessfully trying to get the people under control again, whilst trying to get a clearer shot at her. Laura shook her head inwardly—she had eliminated targets at further distances under even more unsuitable conditions.

The other three men were rushing at a man who was costumed in red garb, with black designs all over it, a man she recognized as the mercenary known as Deadpool. He had drawn twin Katana's and was saying something that she didn't pay attention too, as she turned back to her assailants. She had to focus.

"**Y'know, if you guys happen to be cashiers at this bank, then I am **_**so**_** complaining to the manager**" Deadpool said, as he leapt above one goon, slicing off the arm that held his gun, then kicking his face in. "**Right after I** **finish dismembering you**" He had landed several feet in front of another incoming goon, swiftly throwing one of the blades for his head, hitting him in between the eyes with deadly accuracy. "**Eat your heart out, Bullseye**".

Suddenly he felt himself lift of the floor, and then fall to it as the last thug that was focused on him, emptied half a clip into him from a distance. He had already started bleeding profusely from countless bullet wounds, seeing as he was hit in a few vital organs and his vision of the bank's ceiling was suddenly obscured by the image of his assaulter. He was, however, not what Deadpool expected. His mask was off and he looked like he was barely passed the legal R-rated movie watching age. Plus he was sniveling, barely able to keep himself from shaking as he pointed the gun at Deadpool's head.

"I-I-I'm-I'm s-sorry, Mr. Deadpool. I only did that so you wouldn't, like, y'know, kill me"

"**You know who I am?**"

"Su-sure I do. You're kinda famous. For, y'know, killing people. P-p-please d-don't be mad that I shot you"

"**Are you kidding? This is your big chance kid. You're about to waste Deadpool! There's probably chics watching! Stand up straight!**"

The boy appeared to stop shaking and his face seemed to lighten up a bit. "Really?" he asked as he sniffed a bit

"**Would I lie to you, kid? You're gonna be on Ricki Lake!...wait, that is where the famous people get interviewed, right?**"

The boy shook his head in confusion, just as they both heard a sickening piercing sound. The boy looked down at his stomach, following Deadpool's gaze—and was stunned to see two claws protruding out of his gut. He looked at Deadpool, his mouth agape, about to say something when he promptly crumpled to the floor unconscious.

"**Sorry kid. That's what happens when you get into showbiz**" Deadpool said as he gingerly got up, standing in a huge pool of his own blood, completely healed. He looked over at Laura, unsure of what she would do. "**Don't worry—I'm sure he knew the risks that Hollywood posed**"

She stared at him unflinchingly, claws unsheathed, impossibly calm in the now empty bank. She was covered in almost as much blood as he was, oblivious to just how ruined her combat pants and tight tank top were.

"You are Deadpool" she said, as-a-matter-of-factly

"**Wow. Someone else who knows me…wait, you're not gonna try and kill me, are you?**"

_She'd better. You've never even been attempted to be whacked by a chic this hot_, one of the voices in his head said.

_**Not true, dude, we were almost taken out by She-Hulk!**_, the other voice said, indignantly.

_No, that was a dream. And thank God you replaced that naughty word with the phrase "taken out", _the first voice replied.

"Deadpool" Laura said, snapping Deadpool out of his musings, her face still more or less expressionless. "Why have you killed your combatants?"

"**What? Like you just didn't waste the robber wanna-be about 10 seconds ago!**"

"No, I did not. I pierced areas that were in range from a few to several inches away from the liver and the left kidney. Taking into consideration the assumed response time of the paramedics, he should have suffered only minimal blood loss at their arrival"

"**Yeah, well…what about the guy whose stomach you minced?**"

"Merely a flesh wound. He was…very dramatic"

"**Well, at least I wasn't the one who started trying to take out the goons once their leader took the manager into the Safe, Ms. X-23!**" he said defiantly.

"Yes, you were" Laura insisted, slightly confused and a bit annoyed.

"…**Oh…right. Where **_**are**_** the manager and the boss guy anyway?**"

"How do you know who I am?"

"**Are you kidding? You're X-23! I've done my homework on you too, kid. A kill count that might even rival mine, horrific, tortuous training at a Weapon-X knock off called the Facility, the fact that you got taken in by the X-Men quite some time ago—I know an amount of stuff about you. Was I the only one who read your 'Innocence Lost' and 'Target X' miniseries?**"

"What?"

"**Nothing. Speaking of killing, however—why have you suddenly decided to go cold turkey?**"

At this, Laura's gaze went down and she looked away. "I…I have recently been instructed not to kill. I was also taken off the X-Men team because of readiness to do so"

"**Even after all that X-Force stuff that went down, they don't want you to kill?**"

Laura turned her focus to him once again, about to answer when she was swiftly picked up and slammed into the bank wall by a purple energy. Deadpool turned to see what had caused it, and saw the mastermind behind the bank robbery floating towards them, wearing a black gown.

Deadpool bent to pick his Katana on the floor, and remained in that stance, ready for the next attack. "**Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show up? What took you so long, sunshine?**"

"If you must know, simple one, I was magically transferring the currency to a secret location. I see that you and the young girl have dispatched all of my men?"

"**Magically transferring the cash before you get out? That's…genius. I don't suppose you share your secrets being a magician and all?**"

"I am no magician who resorts parlor trickery. I am a sorcerer"

"**Still…you can't tell me every now and then, you don't get the urge to saw a pretty girl in half**"

"I tire of your banter. I will destroy you now" The sorcerer proceeded to throw similar energy blasts towards the shocked merc.

"**Hey! Magic guy against failed genetic experiment! We're clearly breaking **_**some**_** sort of superhero law here!**" he said, as he dodged the energy blasts, running all over the bank.

_You're technically not a superhero_, one of his voices said.

_**Thank God!,**_ the other said. _**How would we afford their taxes?**_

_Superheroes don't pay taxes, _the first said.

…_**I am just hearing of this, right now.**_

The sorcerer's teeth were clenched as Deadpool managed to evade his blasts time and again. "How have I not destroyed you yet" he growled.

Deadpool ran past his previously discarded Katana, lodged in the head of a goon and pulled it out without stopping. "**I don't know, Sorcerer guy. Maybe I'm Domino in disguise?**" He cart wheeled in the air over a blast and threw one of his Katana's in mid air, hurtling straight for the Sorcerer's arm. "Aaaaagh! Nooooooo!" the Sorcerer shouted. The blade had caught him in his shoulder and he began to glow with an unearthly energy.

"**Yeah, you're right. That joke doesn't really work since you don't know about Domino's luck powers…oh, wait, now you do!**" Deadpool stood and watched him as he tended to his impaled shoulder, and was oblivious to the fact that Laura was now standing beside him.

"You have incapacitated him" she pointed out.

"**Hey, you! When did you get back in the game?**"

"16 seconds ago"

"**Wow. I thought your healing factor was almost as good as mine**"

Laura observed the Sorcerer as he struggled to pull the sword out of his arm without causing more damage. "It seems that it is more difficult to regenerate from his magic based blasts than I would from a physically inflicted wound" she replied, without looking at Deadpool.

"**Hmmm. Bad news for us both then. What say you we take this guy out before he recovers from his current predicament?**"

"We may have to severely injure him"

"**You up for it?**"

"Yes"

The Sorcerers teeth gritted in agony as he managed to pull the weapon from his shoulder, subsequently disintegrating it into nothing. "That will not be forgiven, whelp", he raged, turning to regard his opponent but shocked to see both him and Laura coming at him from different directions. Her claws were drawn and Deadpool wielded a single Katana; their advancement rapid enough for him to have cause for alarm.

Instead, he smiled a wicked grin and his eyes began to glow with power. "No, children. You will not win without a price. And I will return" They both leapt at him fiercely, arms pulled back to strike devastating blows, designed mutilate him in the process. Just before they did, the energy about him reached its zenith and the whole bank was flooded with a blinding light.

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

Laura woke up in the bank, her ears simultaneously assaulted by loud talking above her, siren sounds and the noise of human activity in the bank. She was lying on her back with arms at her side, and slowly attempted to sit up, astounded at the severity of the migraine she had.

Suddenly, there was a massive symphony of cocking guns, pointed to her at close range. Laura isolated every single one of them as they loaded and counted eight firearms. "Freeze" was all she heard repeatedly as she looked about for Deadpool. He was nowhere to be found.

"There is no need to read me my Miranda rights—" she started, only to have every single one of them tell her to be silent or have her spoken information used against her in court. She reluctantly agreed and continued to look around for Deadpool.

**Holy crap…where am I?**

Laura heard Deadpool's unmistakable voice but once again checked about her to no avail. Plus, she could not pick up his scent.

**Uh oh. I can't seem to feel my torso. Am I a disembodied voice? That **_**would**_** explain the void.**

Laura heard the voice again as it boomed almost as if it was within her, and then she realized—that's exactly where it was coming from. From inside her head. "But how—" she began, interrupted by the shouts of another police officer moving toward the human barricade around her.

"Stand down, stand down! I said stand down, people!" he yelled, as they all grudgingly obliged and put their guns away. He stood near Laura now and offered her his hand, which after a moment's hesitation, she took, standing to her feet.

**Hey wait! I can see! But it…it's not through my eyes. I don't remember being this short.**

"Sorry about that kid. Glen Joleson, San Fran PD. We can never be too sure. Eye witnesses confirm that it was you and some other guy who took the thugs on. They seem to be in pretty bad shape though"

Laura's face was as impassive as ever. "I did not kill the men whom I engaged in combat" she said, guessing he may need assurance.

**Oh God, girlie…am I a voice in your mind? Cuz I can…feel, I guess—all your thoughts. I'm with them. They're all around me.**

"Yeah, okay. Except for the one guy who took the sword to the face, the rest are gonna be alright. The sword we found isn't yours, is it?"

"No" she said, trying to ignore the question tugging at her brain: how is Deadpool's voice inside my mind?

**Hey, that's what I'm trying to figure out. Oh God, see, I just heard what you were thinking!**

"Sure it isn't. Eye witnesses also say a man we believe to be known as Deadpool was here fighting alongside you. Unfortunately he's very wanted man and we have to bring him in. Do you know where he went?"

**I'm right here! In front of you! In her head, goddammit!**

"No. We both attacked the leader of the men who attempted to rob this institution, and as we were about to strike him, we were enveloped in an energy wave of unknown origin. Since then, which is approximately 25 minutes and 20 seconds ago, I have been unconscious for more than two-thirds of that time and awoke, also wondering where he had gone"

The policeman looked at Laura, as if she was on drugs or something. He had never seen anyone speak as clean and as concise as her. "People also say" he continued, "that you were using some sort of power or ability to thwart the robbery. Are you with the X-Men?"

"Yes" she replied.

**Wait, that means that—**_**I'm**_** in the X-Men! Yippee, I'm an X-Man!...uh, I mean, X-Woman.**

"Well, they're okay in my book. Thanks to you guys, we were saved from that giant red sphere from God knows where" the officer told her.

**Giant red sphere? And I wasn't here? Damn! It would've looked awesome with two giant black eye slits drawn on it.**

_Aww, dude, you know that Spider-Man would just tell people that it was meant for him._

**Oh great! You mean I'm stuck in your mind with MY own voices? Quick Laura, stab yourself in your left hemisphere!**

_**No, don't! That's where all your memories of Megan are!**_

**Don't worry, we'll go to the store and get you some brand new memories. Some of a person with the name Jeff or Brian or Susan…All particularly nice names…Except for Jeff.**

Laura's face that was usually so blank now began to show frustration, anger and annoyance all at once. She detested incessant talking of any kind. The officer noticed this and regarded her cautiously. "Are you all right miss?"

"…Yes" she uttered, lying to him. She did not feel 'alright'. Not in the least.

"What's your name kid?"

"Laura Kinney. I am 17 years, 8 months, 20 days, and 17 hours old, approximately if minutes and seconds are not considered. I am 5 feet 5 inches and weighed 120.6 pounds as of two weeks ago. My hair color is black and my eye color is green"

"Riiiiight. I didn't really ask you all that"

Laura's brow furrowed in bewilderment. "You do not wish to retrieve such information from me?"

"Actually I do, not just right now" Laura nodded in understanding. "Although we have finished, so if you want someone here will take your statement" Laura nodded again as he motioned to a policewoman, who walked up to her and began asking her questions while writing on a notepad.

_Wait, is she writing a mad lib of what happened in the bank? 'Cuz that would be amazingly sweet. _

**Shush, voices! We're going to meet the limber and very blonde Stepford cuckoos in due time. I don't want you ruining it by being obnoxious!**

_**Your face is obnoxious.**_

…_To be fair, you walked right into that one._

Laura groaned inwardly, as she answered several questions. She had to get back to Utopia and get Deadpool out of her head. As soon as mutantly possible.

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

_Huh? Huh? What do you think? There was a lot of Deadpool in this chapter and in the next, which has a lot of Laura—we see how the X-Men take all this! The explanation of what Laura and Deadpool have become! Also, she—or they—might have new powers! And finally, Deadpool figures out how to take verbal control of Laura's body—and has a "heart to heart" with your favorite Canucklehead and mine—that's right—Wolverine! All in 30 days! Just kidding! Much, much shorter than that._

_Also, Deadpool's original voice is in the bold, his other two voices are in the italics and the bold italics, and Laura's thoughts or anyone else's for future reference are written normally but with single quotation marks._


	2. Chapter 2

_Here we are, second chapter! Let's hope it goes as good as I thought the first one went. If you liked the first one, then review it. And "Nice fic. Please continue" does not count as a review. They're encouragement boosters but hells yeah, I'll take those too! Alright! Let's do it! Also, thank you Vaal, the first person to review. Even if I write this for just a single person, I hope I don't disappoint._

_**Chapter Two: Get out of my head!**_

Laura sat dejectedly in an observation room with an unopened bottle of water on a table in front of her. She was used to this. To being prodded and poked and studied…it reminded her of the horrible days in the facility when all she had to look forward to was pain. But at the same time, in some way that she was sure was bad, wrong…it also brought a certain calm. Maybe it was because at that time in her life, her mother was alive. Or maybe it was because it was the one point in her life that she was sure of whom she was: a killer. Not like her time with the X-Men, when she had never been more confused about whom…or what…she was. They would ask her to kill and then later tell her it was wrong. They would tell her she had to learn to be "normal", and then preach some message about how everyone was special the way they were.

Her body was covered in fixed tiny rubber circle patches that had even smaller mechanical devices in their centers—two on her forehead, two on each arm, one above each breast, three on her stomach, two on her back and three on each leg. They were apparently supposed to monitor her vitals and provide information on body temperature, bio-electric energy flux, heart rate and several other anatomical tasks. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the foreign emotion she wasn't used to dealing with called worry, concurrently fighting the urge to cut herself. In her mind, she reasoned that this was all she was good for any way: to be poked and prodded.

**Hey, you've been poked and prodded too? Oh my God, we have so much in common! Quick, who's your favorite classic rock band…Blue Oyster Cult!...hello, Laura?...we were supposed to both think it on three?**

_Can it, man! Can't you see that she's grieving…about the fact that they never brought the nachos that we asked for?_

_**You never asked for nachos, dude. You wanted a burger.**_

_Yeah, well, I changed my mind…no one should even dare make a pun about that._

Laura's teeth gritted and her brow furrowed in anger as her claws responded to the rage, unsheathing almost immediately. "SHUT UP!" she shouted out loud, startling the people looking at her from the other side of the glass. It was most of the X-Men and Drs. Kavita Rao and James Nemesis including Jefferies, the technical genius.

"Oh yeah", Dr. Nemesis offered, at his usual obnoxious self. "She's definitely crazy"

Dr. Rao looked at him, a glare on her face. "No one said she was crazy, James"

Scott stood beside them, his arms folded and his expression grim. He didn't have time for their usual banter. "Just give it to me straight, doctors"

Dr. Rao kept her eyes on a perfectly still Laura as she talked to Scott. "Well, when she got back from the mainland, she insisted that she was in an altercation with bank robbers and a man with magic based powers, alongside Deadpool. She said that they had stopped the robbers and were about to stop the magic man, when he released an energy that blacked her out, and when she awoke, Deadpool's body was gone and she could hear his voice in her mind, along with two others that she says, are in some way, also his".

Dr. Nemesis then continued for Rao. "The energy she speaks of— we weren't able to get any residual signatures off of her. We _have_ been taking brainwave patterns and they suggest however, that she may be telling the truth. We've measured _four_ times the normal activity she or anyone else has displayed before"

Scott put one of his hands on the glass. "So you're saying that Deadpool—courtesy of this…magician, I guess—is now stuck in Laura's mind?"

"Precisely. Fine job of summarizing what we already made clear" Dr. Nemesis comeback was met with yet another glare from Dr. Rao, followed this time by a slap on the shoulder. Scott however wasn't paying attention; he was thinking of what the hell to do about the situation. Behind him, stood Colossus, Angel, Psylocke, Rogue and most of the New X-Men. Their faces gave away what they were all feeling; concern and pity. Some of them knew how insufferable Deadpool could be.

Psylocke was the first to break the silence. "Will she be alright?"

"There's technically nothing wrong with her" Dr. Rao noted. "She seems to be as healthy as she was at her last check up and she was able to pass a quick psych test that we conducted"

"But we just heard her say 'shut up' to no one in particular!" Rockslide said. "Doesn't that mean she might be going insane, or something?"

"Kid, Deadpool has taken up residence in between her neuron paths. From what I know about Deadpool, she already is insane"

"Shut up, Nemesis" Scott said. "Maybe we should contact Henry as soon as he's finished with his current Avengers mission"

"Really?" Nemesis inquired. "What do you think he can do for her that we can't?"

"Actually, Scott, I hate to agree with Nemesis—but he has a point" Dr. Rao interjected. "There's nothing physically wrong with her"

"Except for the fact that she has someone's consciousness inside of her own" Colossus said, agreeing with Scott. "Maybe it would be best if we got everyone's opinion on this"

"Yeah, it would" Scott muttered to himself. Time for analysis was over. "Someone get Emma in here now"

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

"Emma, where the hell were you? We've been waiting an hour for you!"

Emma, completely unfazed, kept up her alluring walk towards a slightly livid Scott. "Calm down darling. I was sure it wasn't such a huge matter. Hence, the timing, love. I did get here as fast I could though"

"That's not your call Emma. You don't make assumptions and I don't care whether you read my mind and saw it wasn't urgent. You're an X-Man, you're part of the team. That means you answer to me. So when I say you come, you get here as quick as your legs can carry you. Are we clear?"

Everyone else that was still there was slightly caught off guard for a moment as Scott berated his girlfriend. Even Emma herself was taken back a bit at his suddenness, but bounced back to her usual self in an instant. "Power plays, Scott? God, I can't even describe how hot you are right now"

"Emma…"

"Yes, yes, I know. Laura awaits" In seconds, she had entered the room, pulling a seat from the entrance towards the table to sit directly in front of Laura, who had recently been freed of the monitoring patches. She wasn't one of her favorite students but she had learnt how to be civil with her. "Laura" she said simply, as a greeting and as a way to capture her attention. Laura's downcast head tilted upwards slightly, and fierce green eyes peered through the straight curtain of hair that obscured her face somewhat. Seeing who it was, she sat up straight once again. "Ms. Frost" Laura responded, in the same way.

**Dude, I'm inches away from Emma Frost—in the flesh! This is the…65****th**** greatest moment of my life!**

_Meh, I'm not so impressed. You can tell that those two things that she needs to get of her chest are totally fake._

_**What things?**_

_Her false self esteem and her fake sense of accomplishment, duh…wait…what did you think I was talking about?_

The corners of Emma's mouth upturned slightly when she heard these comments come from Laura's mind. 'It's definitely Deadpool in there, Luv' she told Scott telepathically.

**Hey, she called me Deadpool! That's totally like—first base!**

_No, you're thinking of "first name basis" and Deadpool isn't even your first name!_

**Stop harshing our unrequited love!**

'Deadpool, do you know where you are?' Emma asked with a thought, attempting to talk mind to mind.

**Definitely not Disney world…Although, who knows? I've never been. This could be freakin' Disney world…it's kinda nice.**

'Deadpool, please concentrate. Do you remember how you ended up in Laura's mind?'

**It's just like how she said; we were about to take out the big baddy, he freaked and whipped up a spell that blacked us out. Next thing I know I'm in here.**

'I see' Emma said, maintaining eye contact with Laura as she conversed with Deadpool. Emma had not seen her display a wide range of emotions in her time with the X-Men, but she was unmistakably sure which feeling Laura possessed at the moment: Annoyance. "Please, get him out of my mind" she said, in that stoic way of hers that even made her pleas sound nothing like requests at all. "We're trying all we can, Laura" Emma assured her, closing her eyes and focusing on running a light telepathic scan on their combined minds.

**Wait! W-w-wait! That tickles! Please, no more scanning! Please stop!**

In no time at all, Emma stopped and opened her eyes, standing up and walking towards the observatory glass. The rest of them outside waited patiently for what she would say, hoping that it would be good news.

"Well, it's like this, Scott: their minds are now completely fused together. And it was done magically, so it's extremely difficult to see just how intertwined their psyches are at this point. But as far as I can tell, there happens to be no psychic damage to either of their minds. Plus, I am not a magic expert in any way but your best bet at reversing this quandary would be to get hold of the sorcerer that executed the whole ordeal" Cyclops had listened to what Emma had to say, but was not satisfied. "Damn. We need answers, clues—anything. Emma, you're gonna have to go deeper" he told her. "You're the fearless leader, darling" she admitted, as she turned back to Laura and took her seat once more. This time, she took a more sober stance, her hands resting against her temples. 'Deadpool, Laura—I need you both to calm down for what I'm about to do next' she explained, mentally, pausing for a short while before furrowing her brow in deep concentration

**Uh, lady? That might not be such a good idea. Since I'm kinda insane and all.**

_Hey! Don't drag us down with you! _

_**Yeah, I am not crazy. I'm just a free spirit.**_

Suddenly the expression on Emma's face became pained and moments later, she screamed and fell backwards out of her chair, as if she had been knocked out. In a flash, Scott and a few others had entered the room, struggling to tend to an Emma who was bleeding from her nose and groaning. "Emma, what happened?" Scott demanded. Before she could even answer, the air was rattled with another scream from Nori. "Oh my God, Laura!" Everyone's gaze turned to focus on Laura, who had, in the mist of the commotion, slumped to the floor in a similar way to Emma, her nose bleeding as well. As some people rushed over to see how Laura was doing, Scott continued to press Emma with questions. "What happened, Emma? Talk to me. Are you alright?" She slowly sat up while Scott tried to help balance her, seeing that she was dizzy.

"My God, Scott, his mind is so…it's so…it's a bloody mess. God's nails on a cosmic chalkboard equivalence. He gave me a bloody migraine. But apart from that, I'm fine"

"What about Laura?"

"Sorry. She must've been knocked out. The psychic feedback had a bigger strain on her than it did me"

"Did it take out Deadpool too?" he asked, helping her up to her feet.

"I have no idea. I'll scan for him in a minute. Just let me catch my breath, Luv"

"No" he said adamantly. "You've done enough. You should rest" Confident that she could stand on her own, Scott left Emma to join the small crowd that had surrounded Laura. He pushed through and crouched beside her. They had lain her in a supine position; on her back, with her arms at her sides. Scott gently shook her by the shoulders as he called her name. "Laura? Laura, can you hear me? Laura, wake up. Laura?" Just as he was about to give up and have her moved to the medical bay, she stirred lightly. "Thank God" he said to himself. "Laura, are you alright? Say something" he urged, as Laura's eyes fluttered open and she stared back at all the faces looking down at her. And then she did something that freaked them out.

She smiled. Not the rare, once in a blue moon smile that people were used to seeing her make; the one where the corners of her mouth would turn up so very faintly that if you were far away, you wouldn't notice a thing. No, this smile was different. It was a grin. A somewhat silly grin. Her teeth were showing. It was something that would look normal on anyone else but…this was _Laura_.

"Laura?" Scott called out, barely in a whisper, hoping she didn't have some sort of psychic damage from Emma's mind incursion. "Is that you?"

"**Dude, I may not be an English professor but I'm pretty sure that's not how you pronounce Wade**" Laura said, the grin still etched on her face.

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

"SUMMERS!" came the half yell, half growl from the corridors leading to the observation room area. Scott sighed and hung his head low. Logan had arrived.

The observation room deck was fairly empty at the moment. Scott had sent all the young X-Men away except for Josh and Nori, their team leader who insisted on staying. Also all the older X-Men apart from Psylocke and Angel had left, mainly because Scott had in a way ordered them too. Emma had also remained, sitting down to rest however, due to her still being rattled from her recent episode. "Here he comes darling; brace yourself" she warned Scott teasingly, only to be met by one of his harsher scowls.

"Logan, we tried to help her but—" Scott began, as a very not happy Wolverine marched toward him, with a look on his face that would make a junior X-Man piss their pants. Suddenly, Logan had caught Scott by his shirt and pushed him against the observation room glass.

"What the f%k, Summers? Why the hell wasn't I called in the moment she told you something was wrong?"

"We had it under control, Logan. And besides, why weren't you here in the first place? It's not my fault that you're always off doing your own thing" Logan's face was dangerously close to Scott's, near enough for Scott to see the anger dancing in his eyes and smell the alcohol on his breath. _Snikt! _Wolverine's right hand had let go of Scott's shirt, and was now displaying its claws. "Careful Summers" Logan warned, his voice dangerously low. Nobody in the room dared interrupt them, except for Emma, whose voice suddenly cut through the tension. "You know boys; if you do plan on fighting, let me know and I'll see to it that a kiddie pool and jello are retrieved at once"

"Shut up, Emma" Logan countered, without turning away from Scott. Her comment did happen to snap them out of it, and he reluctantly let Scott go. "What the hell happened anyway?"

"Deadpool got stuck in Laura's mind and we just wanted to know how deep the conjoining was. Long story short; Emma tried, it backfired and now Laura is unconscious in her own body—"

"While Deadpool has assumed control of it—I know, Emma brought me up to speed when she contacted me. How did he get stuck in her mind in the first place?"

"We have no idea. Something about magic"

Wolverine grunted. "I hate magic"

"You and me both" Scott agreed. They were both looking through the glass at Laura now, each in their own thoughts. At the moment though, they couldn't help but be perplexed as they saw Laura—or Deadpool, rather—sway her head from side to side, humming something they couldn't quite make out.

"Is she—I mean, is he humming?" Nori asked, garnering everyone else's attention toward the awkward scene.

"It would appear so" Emma said, a smirk playing on her face.

"Jesus" Wolverine breathed. "Of all the shmucks in the world of costumes, why'd it have to be Deadpool?"

"**You do know that, due to her wickedly cool powers, I just heard everything you said, right?**" Laura was looking toward the glass with a mock hurt look on her face. "**Mercenaries who kill people for money have feelings too, y'know!**" she yelled.

"Crap. It sounds like Laura, but the personality is all…crazy" Elixir commented.

"Yeah" Angel agreed. "And the voice—I don't believe I've ever heard it without the usual monotone. Now it's so normal, with emotion behind it. It seems so—"

"Wrong" Logan muttered, finishing Warren's sentence for him. "That's it—I'm gonna have a talk with him"

"Logan, what use is that gonna be?" Scott inquired, attempting to dissuade him as he entered the observation room any way. Logan walked over to where Emma had been sitting not long ago, looking down at Laura, who grinned at him, her fists supporting her head at her cheeks with elbows firmly placed on the table that separated them. "**Hi-ya, Dad!**" she hooted.

The look on Logan's face became even more furious. "Shut it, Wilson! I'm _not_ your dad!"

"**Sure you don't want the position? It's open. Between the kid and myself, we got more issues than all the comics ever published by Marvel **_**and**_** DC. Besides, you and I could bond while you show me how you comb all that face hair of yours**" At that, Wolverine slammed his fists on the table, straining it as it shook. "Let Laura back out right now, Wade!" he barked.

Outside, Elixir was whispering to Nori. "I've never heard of comic companies called DC or Marvel" he told her, only for her to roll her eyes.

Laurapool, however, didn't seem to care for Logan's intimidations as she leaned back in her chair with her arms behind her head, stretching out her legs on the table. "**Sorry Wolvie, Laura seems to still be out cold from what I can tell. Emma Frost really did a number on her. And from what I've gleaned from the kid's mind so far, Ms. Frost doesn't really like her that much anyway. You sure she didn't do it on purpose? You should totally bring her in here so we can question her**" Out of the blue, Laurapool gasped as if she had made an important discovery and quickly sat up normally again, her eyes wide as she continued to look at Logan with a grin. "**We could totally do the 'Bad cop, Insane cop with spit personalities' routine on her!**" she shrieked

_**As long as I get to be one of the personalities!**_

…_Um, you kinda didn't have that many options either way._

"Look, Wade, I'm givin' you one last shot here" Wolverine threatened. "Let her out or else…"

"**Oh come on, Logan, it's not like I don't care what happens to her, or something. She'll come out of her psychic coma when she comes out of it**" she assured him. "**Besides, I kinda like Laura; she's a stand-up chic. She gave me a hand with all those bank robbers and she was just passing by. Plus she's something of a fan; we even got to first base together!**" Laurapool said, turning everyone's look, including that of Logan, into one of horror and shock.

"**Oh wait, did I say 'first base'? I meant first name basis! Sorry about that**" she apologized.

_See? I freakin' told you! Always listen when voices in your head tell you stuff!_

Wolverine straightened up, still giving Laurapool an irate look, but it was obvious he was satisfied with her answer and saw the truth in her statement.

"Anything happens to her Wade and it's your funeral" he told her.

"**I'm technically already dead—what with the lack of a body and all—but okay, I get you**" she said. "**So, um… can I go now?**" she requested, faking a puppy dog pout.

"Not off the damn island, that's for sure"

"**Yeah I know, I know. I meant out of this room! I'm cramping from sitting in this seat for so long and I want to go enjoy having a hot, young, unscarred body while it lasts**" This time the look on Logan's face was one of disgust. "**Hey, it's not my fault that that came out wrong!**" she said defensively.

"I am _not_ your dad, Wade! And don't you even think of doing weird or inappropriate stuff in Laura's body!"

"**Dude, why you gotta stifle my fun side likathat?**"

_We have a fun side?_

_**Sure we do! We may have not used it since we were four, but it's there all right!**_

Wolverine then thrust a finger in Laurapool's face. "And don't you dare act creepy around the kids; Laura has it bad enough with them. She doesn't need you making it harder for her to fit in. Got it?"

"**Aye, aye cap'n**" she agreed, mock saluting him as she did.

Behind them, Scott decided it was time to butt in "I haven't okayed any of this yet, Logan!"

"Put a sock in it Cyke. We can't just keep him here indefinitely. Besides, he'll behave…I'm sure of it" Logan looked straight at Laurapool, unsheathing his claws as he said it, making her swallow nervously.

"Besides" Logan continued, "We can keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn't screw up and what not. Come on" he said as he gestured to Laurapool, making his way out of the observation room.

"**Oh yeah!**" she said as she got up and started to follow him "**This is gonna be great!**"

_Or it could suck…just tryna be realistic, man!_

_**Hmmm. What can I say that's funny before this chapter ends?...Oh yeah, got it! Here goes noth—**_

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

_Wow, that was kinda difficult to write! Hope it's enjoyable to read though. This is still basically the first arc of this story and it might be two or more chapters longer. Next chapter: Laurapool (Laura's body animated by Deadpool's minds) runs amok in Utopia! It's gonna be sweet! Plus Laurapool acquaints herself with her team mates, the New X-Men squad! Nuff said! Read and review if you want. Which you should._

_Also when Deadpool is talking through Laura, I use the pronoun "she", because it's still Laura's voice and her body. Just a different personality. If enough people complain though, I might change it._


	3. Chapter 3

_Oh my God—here we are at the third chapter! Seriously I had no idea that we would make it this far. Thanks to all of you who reviewed—you guys are awesome! And Nileena,TristeAlma and Kairan1979—glad you guys liked it. I'll try to keep it as interesting as possible. Sorry, but there's no Laura in this chapter—I really wanted the spotlight on Wade. Although in the next, they'll both be there, equally. Don't worry, I will let her out, eventually. Now for the third chapter! Read on if you want to laugh! And by that logic, you should leave and not read it if you want to cry. Is that want you want? To cry? Well, that's why you should read on!_

_**Chapter three: Wade's day out**_

In a relatively full and lively cafeteria, one table seemed to be sitting people whose generally somber mood contrasted with the energetic atmosphere around them. Usually, they were always a part of the din but after what they had just seen and subsequently been told about one of their team mates, Laura, they could not help but feel alarm as they thought of her current condition. She was someone that due to her very limited, almost non-existent social skills, when she had first arrived and joined the X-Men, they had disliked her, even hated her somewhat. Her past made them terrified of her. But Laura's time in their midst had helped forge alliances, understandings and uneasy friendships between her and them. Long story short—they had come to care for her. She had fought alongside them, saved their lives countless times and proven herself. She was one of them.

It was Surge and Elixir who had just come from the observation room area, where the rest of them had been chased from a short time ago. As soon as they joined their friends—Rockslide, Hellion, Prodigy, Pixie, Anole, Dust and Mercury—at their usual table, they all figured that something final had been done about Laura's condition. Surge and Elixir, however, proceeded to tell them that Deadpool was still in her and had taken over her body for the time being.

"WHAT!" Cessily shouted, startling people who sat at tables beside their own. She promptly eased their minds with a nervous smile before looking back at Elixir. "But Deadpool's a bad guy, kind of, right? I mean, he tried to kill my dad once!"

"Actually, that was just a plan to make the X-Men look good again, Cess…and I gotta admit, it worked" Nori said.

"Yeah, well still, he's a bit of a bad guy. I mean, he's killed people, right?"

"So has Wolverine, Cess" Rockslide commented in a grim manner, which was extremely unorthodox for him. Even _he_ was feeling bummed by what had happened to Laura. His current mood reflected off the group and a wave of silence engulfed them again as they silently ate their lunch.

"I hope that Laura will fare well" Dust said suddenly, her visage clearly addled by worried despite her face being nearly obscured completely by her niqab.

"I'm sure she'll be fine" Julian said, after chewing a mouthful of food that was being fed to him by Cessily. His hands that had been vaporized by nimrods were supposed to be replaced by state of the art robotic one's in a couple of days. "I mean, she's like the most persistent of us. Surviving stuff is kind of her thing"

"How sweet of you to say so, Keller" came a sarcastic gruff voice from one end of the table where no one sat. The whole of them looked to where it was coming from—they already knew it was Wolverine—but they were surprised to see Laura holding a tray, standing beside him. "So listen up, runts, before you start asking questions an' give me a splitting headache—yes, this is Deadpool. Laura is still asleep somewhere in her own mind. She'll come out soon. No need to be all longfaced about it. No need to let anyone else know about it, either". He placed his palms on the table and leaned forward a bit. "I trust you to keep an eye on "her", if you know what I mean" he said, his voice low and resolute. Every single one of them nodded, albeit tentatively. He then turned to Laurapool. "Behave, Wade"

"**You can trust me, Daddykins!**" she said, a wide smile on her face. Wolverine snarled and made a fist at that, but looked around and decided against whatever action he wanted to take. "Like I said Wade— behave" he reminded him, walking away from them after that. In no time at all, Laurapool had dragged a chair to the table end that no one occupied and plopped herself down it. The rest of them were silent, nervous and unsure of what to say to her as she proceeded to scarf down her food hungrily. In seconds however, she could tell that all eyes were on her and she suddenly stopped eating, slowly raising her head to stare back at them. "**…Uuh…is there something on my face? Like make-up?**" she inquired, with her mouth full.

_Dude, you do know that you can totally wear that stuff now—You're in a chicks body!_

_**Did not being in one, ever stop him from trying to wear some before?**_

Rockslide, though, was regarding Laurapool quizzically for a completely different reason and decided to put it out there. "Dude…'Daddykins'? Seriously?"

"**Oh, don't give me that, Ben Grimm junior—we all know that under your bed, next to all those magazines full of pictures of half-naked rocks, you have 'Archie' comics just like every other mutant your age**" For a split second, all eyes were on Santos and some of them smiled a bit at what Laurapool had said. It was hard to out-quip Rockslide and it seemed she had the skills to do it. "**Besides you're just jealous about the fact that I have a closer vibe with Wolverine than you do…plus, about the fact that I have breasts**" she added, taking every one back a bit.

"Hey, I am _not_ jealous of any of that!…although, breasts do beat rock body, I'll give you that one" Santos admitted, earning stern glares from all the girls at the table and some of the guys. Nori then decided it was the time to assert herself over Laurapool. "Um, excuse me—Deadpool, is it? I'm the leader of—"

"**Please, call me Laurapool**"

"Laurapool?" Prodigy asked

"**Yeah, it was coined by the guy who's writing the fic**" At that, everybody just stared at her in complete confusion. "**Huh**", she said under her breath, "**thought that sounded pretty straight forward**"

_Well, it didn't, obviously, or else they wouldn't be staring at you like…like how…everyone stares at you._

_**Well if they're like that now, how're they gonna be when we break the 'fifth wall'?**_

_Dude, there is no fifth wall._

_**That's exactly what people in the Middle Ages said about the Internet. And then, bam!—Just like that, we got online butter churning.**_

_Yeah…I don't think you know exactly when the Middle Ages were._

Nori quickly shook her head in dismissal and continued. "Anyway, Deadpool, I'm the team leader, Surge. You're gonna have to answer to me when were on active duty, if you're gonna be around that long. What I say goes and that's final. You got it?" she asked, trying to be confident in front of a person who she was actually terrified of.

"**Wow, okay, Surge?…that is just, the worst codename ever**"

"What?" Nori exclaimed, suddenly protective of her pride, effectively dropping her '_leader_' façade. "It's a good codename!"

"**I don't think so! It totally describes your power to the bad guys so they can counter your moves before you even do 'em!**"

_Unless it's describing something else, like…a "surge of bitchiness", or something._

_**Didn't you used to have that power?**_

"**You need a codename that's full of mystique, that'll strike fear in the name of your opponent!**" Laurapool said with vigor, slamming a fist into her palm for emphasis.

"Oh, you mean like your name—Deadpool? Sure, I mean what villain isn't afraid of a body of water that's been whacked?" Julian joked, sending half the table into laughter.

"**Oh, nice one, Hellion! High five!**" Laurapool said, raising her right hand in the air, her tone choked with sarcasm. "**Whoops! Oh, wait—I'm sorry, my bad**" she apologized with mock sadness, slowly bringing her hand down as Cessily held an angry Julian from getting up to start a confrontation. "**What did you do—lose your hands playing one of your regular games of 'Hungry, hungry Hippos'? Those plastic hippo mouths are really dangerous, man. Better keep your other appendages from their mouths, 'Nubby'!**" Laurapool sneered.

"Hey, I'll have you know" Julian said indignantly, "that I lost these fighting a Nimrod!"

"**You…lost your hands…fighting a stupid person?**" Laurapool asked curiously.

_Been there, done that._

_**Thrice.**_

"No!" Anole said, offended on Julian's behalf, like most people at the table were. "It's an adapting mutant killing robot, that's freakin hard to destroy! Show some respect!"

"**Pfft, whatever**" Laurapool said dismissively, with a wave of her hand. "**Get a healing factor; all the **_**cool**_** kids have one, anyway!**"

_Now that is a statement I can get behind._

_**Wait, you're saying that the Hulk is a cool kid?**_

_Did you not see the slammin' tiara and gladiator skirt he was rockin' during World War Hulk?_

_**Yeah, and the awesome mace—a hell of a way to accessorize.**_

"Hey, why don't you bite me, Deadputz!" Julian spewed, despite being talked down by Mercury.

"'_**Bite me**_**'? '**_**Deadputz**_**'? Wow…epic fail, hombre. Seriously**" Laurapool lamented. "**I can't believe Laura has a crush on you**" she mumbled, under her breath yet again.

"What?" Julian asked, unsure of what she said.

"Uh, excuse me, guys?" Pixie interrupted, nervously. "Uh, not to get between the crossfire of crazy here, but we do have training session in a short time. Maybe we should start to get a move on?" she suggested.

"Yeah, not to mention the fact that playing the ridicule game with Laura's body despite the occupant, is as creepy and strange as hell" Elixir chimed in, still freaked out by the whole ordeal. "I mean, it doesn't sound like someone else—it's as if it's still Laura and she suddenly went nutty. And anything other than her quiet, direct and socially awkward personality is just, ironically, not Laura and it's weird"

"**Hey, I'm sittin' right here, dude!**" Laurapool complained in offense.

"Sorry, man, I wasn't takin' a shot at you or something—I was just pointing out a fact" Josh explained

"**That don't make it okay, Bronzey!**"

"I'm golden, jackass" Elixir responded, getting pissed.

"**Aww, you're gold? What's the matter—couldn't go platinum?**" Laurapool taunted.

"Zing!" Rockslide exclaimed, earning another round of vicious looks aimed straight at him. "What?" he said defensively.

"Hey, guys!" Nori shouted firmly, stopping the talking from going any further. "Pixie is right. We've got training. Everyone rendezvous back at that at the simulation room in 30" she ordered, getting up. "Once again, Julian, if you want, you may be excused".

"No thanks, Nori. Telekinesis has nothing to do with my hands. I'm with you guys" he affirmed.

"Okay, then" she said, turning to Laurapool. "Deadpool, you may as well come along. One of us can show you to Laura's room and the training room if you want"

"**No, no, it's okay! I know where Laura's room and the Utopia danger room are**" Laurapool said excitedly. "**Wow, I get to train as an X-Man! This is gonna be sweet!**"

_You gotta get a costume ready!_

_**Yeah, the usual sleeveless top showing the midriff, tight pants and boots that she wears just ain't gonna cut it!**_

"**You think?**"

_Dude, would we lie to you?_

"**Uh…yes?**"

…_True. But it doesn't mean we don't look out for you._

_**Are you kidding? I wouldn't say a word if he was gonna get ganked!**_

_But then we'd die too._

_**A very, very small, inconsequential flaw in my logic.**_

"**Well, the voices have it! We need new fighting garb…that can also double as evening wear, in case!**"

_What're you, Tim Gunn now?_

_**Who the hell is that? Have you been watching E! entertainment again?**_

…_No._

"**Uh guys?**" Laurapool said, calling her voices' attention. "**We have company?**" she reminded them. She smiled nervously at the whole table as they all looked at her, nothing but scared looks on their faces, as they had listened to her converse with no one but herself.

"**Sorry! It's the…y'know…voices**" Laurapool told them. She cleared her throat and stood up as they kept staring at her, dumbfounded. "**Well, if you'll all excuse me…**" she said, pausing for a while before taking off real fast out of the cafeteria.

"Oooooookaaaayyyyy" Nori said, as she started to walk away. "Let's forget that ever happened"

"Gladly" Elixir murmured, silently hoping Laura was alright as everyone started to leave.

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

"WHERE THE HELL IS LAURA?" Nori yelled, as she dodged a blast from a sentinel, rolling away just in time. In seconds, she was back on her feet and sending all the electricity she could straight at it. "We're getting creamed out here!"

"You mean Deadpool, Surge" Rockslide said as he went for one of its legs, repeatedly punching it as hard he could, albeit to no damaging effect. "Besides, we don't need him slash her—we can take this thing!"

"Don't be so sure about that, man!" Julian called out, wincing as he stood some distance away from it, struggling to topple the sentinel with his teke. The legs of the enormous machine glowed green but it was barely disturbed by his efforts and another energy blast from its palm struck the ground near Julian, throwing him a couple of feet away.

"Julian!" Cessily screamed, as she saw him get blasted from her position on top of the robot's shoulder. Her frantic efforts to cut through its metallic hide were thwarted by its thickness and strength. "What the hell is this thing made of? It never used to be this hard to cut in real life" she deliberated on, out loud.

Pixie, meanwhile, had been trying to teleport one of its hands off to reduce its effective blasts against them, but had been swiftly smacked to the ground. "Blame it on Prodigy, Cess. Him _and_ his stupid program upgrades" she said as Anole and Josh rushed over to help her up. The sentinel practically bent over now to pick up Nori with one of its hands but she promptly let it have all she had, frying the cybernetics in one palm and taking care of the energy discharges from that hand. "Where's Sooraya?" she asked, as she retreated, satisfied with the damage she had caused for now.

Elixir was the one who answered her. "She's in its head, trying to mess up its systems from there" They all looked up at the head and clearly enough—its head was sparking, signifying that Dust was making progress. "But at this rate, she'll never get it down anytime soon" Anole added, echoing their sentiments. Surge was now supporting a dazed Julian on her shoulders, as she joined them and Pixie. "Stupid hard light constructs" Julian barely made out, as they all congregated to formulate their next move. The sentinel kicked Rockslide and he landed just in front of them, clearly unhappy with the way things were going. "Hey! I want a rematch!" he howled. In moments, the sentinel suddenly stopped clamoring for the persistent Cessily on its shoulder and let loose a mild electric shock that sent her toppling off, toward the ground.

"Julian, it's Cessily! Can you—" Nori started.

"Way ahead of you, Boss" he said weakly as his eyes glowed green and he managed to catch Cessily before she hit the ground, slowly bringing her to where they were. A cloud of dust also suddenly fell from the sentinel's head to the ground, and it gradually accumulated near them to form a stunned Sooraya. "What…what happened?" she asked, holding her head in one hand.

"Mild shock, Sooraya" Nori replied as the towering robot stepped toward their direction. "I swear, Deadpool is so dead when I see him" she growled, just as they all heard a massive gun cock behind them. They all turned back to see what it was and were astounded when they saw that it was Laurapool—but in new clothing. She had on the same pants and boots that comprised of Deadpool's costume but in addition, the strings of a red thong hung out higher up around her waist, above the belt. She wore a black tube top that had a wide vertical red stripe, sort of the sexy chick version of the Deadpool costume shirt, and she also kept the costumes red gloves. She still wore the choker but the pendant now carried the Deadpool logo on it, and her eyes both had black circles painted around them, a la Domino. Lastly, a few of the foremost strands of her curtained, straight hair were dyed red…and she carried the biggest gun that any of them had ever seen.

"'**Sup, guys? What did I miss?**" she inquired, the most mischievous leer ever adorning her face.

_Oh yeah! What an entrance, baby!_

_**It had to be! It was totally my idea, by the way!**_

_No, it wasn't! You wanted to come in, running in slow motion to the Baywatch theme song!_

_**Oh, right!...that would've been way more awesome though.**_

…_Agreed._

"Whoa" Santos breathed. "Is it totally wrong if I think she's freakishly hot right now?"

"YES!" Almost all of them shouted, except for Julian, who was looking at her wide eyed. "Wow. I had no idea the clone could _be_ this hot" he muttered.

"**You guys like it? I wasn't sure about the 'Victoria Hand' hair cuz I didn't wanna be a biter, but—excuse me a moment**" she said, stooping to kneel on one knee, hoisting the gun up to her shoulders and aiming at the sentinel. After pausing for what seemed like a nanosecond, she fired it, the sound making the New X-Men duck low. The rocket caught the menacingly advancing robot in the glowing energy center on the chest, exploding on impact and sending the automaton backwards to the ground. It landed hard, shaking the ground around them for a short while until everything became still and silent. However, in seconds, Laurapool had resumed her former position and proceeded to continue talking. "**Anyway, as I was saying—I didn't wanna be a biter, but I think I make it work. The girl hormones make me so very giddy and crave your approval!**"

_That's sexist! We can't endorse that!_

_**Can't endorse it? Dude, you wanted 'Four more years of Osborn'!**_

_Hey, he did wonders for the little costumed mercenary guys, y'know? He fought for us!_

_**No, he hunted us down, and threatened to send his Thunderbolts after us.**_

…_Can't you let me have anything? Just once?_

"Where the hell were you?" Surge asked, angry as hell.

"**Uh, getting all this ready?**" Laurapool answered.

"Where'd you get a gun that big anyway?" Anole further questioned, still staggered by its size.

"**Yeeeeah…about that…**" Laurapool tried to explain, holding the gun out, regarding it herself. "**I kinda broke the fifth wall with that one**"

_**See? I told you! Fifth wall! **_

_Ohh, you mean 'Pulling stuff up from out of thin air with no logic, sense or possibility behind its appearance'? _

_**Hells yeah! We totally went all 'Deus ex Machina' up in this beeyotch!**_

"Look, crazy Deadpool guy, we are a team, and that means that when your teammates are fighting a giant robot or monster, you help them!" Nori screamed at her, getting up in her face.

"…**But…I-I…got here in time**" Laurapool said, her voice quiet and low.

The program ended and the room returned to its real dimensions, just as Nori got even angrier. "You have to be able to depend on your teammate, put your life in their hands and Laura—despite her quirks and what people thought of her—always had our back in a fight!" she shouted, even louder than before, filling Laurapool's face with unease and bewilderment. "No wonder no one likes you" she added finally, walking away from Laurapool, toward the entrance. Everyone else was still looking at her after Surge's dressing-down and truthfully: they had never seen a more pitiable expression display itself on anyone's face. Even Laura had never looked this way before. She looked so dejected—she honestly was probably going to cry. At that moment, they realized everything they had heard about Deadpool was true. He was annoying, deadly, unpredictable, insane even…but the one thing that people didn't realize is that he struggled to fit in, to belong, just like anyone else. And so far, he hadn't.

"**Yeah…okay**" she said, silently and miserably, dropping her gun and walking away toward the entrance as well. Sooraya held up her hand, considering stopping Laurapool to talk to her because she felt that no one deserved that. She was stopped by Cessily, though, just before she could attempt to. "Let him go, Sooraya. Just let him go"

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

Logan sat down outside, the evening sun settling on him, as he watched little kids play a game vaguely resembling soccer. Utopia could be a pretty peaceful place at times…and this was one of those times. Momentarily ignoring any responsibilities he had with the mutant community, the Avengers or any other group he was familiar with, he decided to simply sit down, get some air, watch kids play and pretend his life wasn't a crapstorm of craziness. But as his nostrils twitched and he sniffed the air around him and realized someone was approaching, he knew all the peace was going to go straight down the crapper, especially considering who it was. "I can smell you, Wade. If you're trying to creep up on me, you should know better" He was then about to launch into a tirade about how Wade should leave him be before he would make him regret it, but was shocked when Laurapool came and sat down beside him, without uttering a word, her clothes and what-not back to how Laura preferred them.

Logan then realized that he may have been talking to Laura. "Laura? Is that you, kid?"

"**No**" Laurapool replied, a very somber expression clouding her face.

"Wade?" Wolverine asked, somewhat incredulously. "What's with the whole silent act? Did you finally just run out of things to say?" Logan turned back to watch the squealing children, who were engrossed in their game. "Heard that in between the time I left you at the cafeteria and your training session with the runts, you freaked the hell out of the cuckoos, pissed of Namor—which in your defense, isn't very hard to do—, got chased by some of Cannonball's crew, and gave Magneto the 'I'm-watching-you' gesture. Pretty slow day for ya, huh?"

Laurapool watched the kids with him without taking her eyes off them as she began to talk. "**Here's the deal, Logan: you know that I hate you. So very much. I used to have dreams about killing you and everything**"

"Really?" Logan asked, mock surprise in his voice.

_Oh yeah, I remember those dreams…he would always come back as a zombie and marry my best friend, who unknown to me was my sister._

_**Boy, were we into Telemundo back then.**_

"**I know that you know I hated you. But have you ever wondered why? I mean, I'm a pretty irrational guy, but I don't hate or like anyone without a reason. Wanna know what's behind yours?**"

"You're probably gonna tell me anyway, Wade"

"…**It's…it's the fact that we're both Weapon X Screwees, but you…everyone seems to like you. You have friends, and all that. All I have is voices**"

_Hate to spoil the touching heart-to-heart but…HEY!_

_**Tres offensive, man.**_

Logan chuckled. "You tend to drive people away from you all on your own, bub"

"**Oh yeah, and like you're mister freakin sunshine? How do you do it? How do you get them to like you?**"

Logan paused for a short while. "I guess…you just should try to do right by people, no matter the attitude you got"

"…**That's it? That's the huge revelation?**"

"Trust is a pretty big thing, Wade. People like me, you and Laura, our healing factors may enable us live a thousand freakin years. To us, these people's lives seem short, and so there's no reason to bother with pleasing them, right? Wrong. All that makes our seemingly immortal lives worthwhile and gives them meaning are our relationships with people. Plain and simple"

Laurapool considered what he said for a while, and then just like that her face lit up again. "**You're right, Logan. I know what I have to do**"

"What?" Logan asked curiously, sure that Wade would botch the meaning of what he had just said. He watched as she got up and slowly backed away from him. "**I'm gonna get Laura back for them. That's what they want, right?**"

"Now hold on there, Wade" Logan cautioned, afraid of what he would do, when he saw that she had put her right fist against her temple and closed her eyes. "There ain't no reason to assume that would wo—"

Before he had finished, he heard the sickening yet familiar sound of claws piercing the skull and tearing through brain matter. "**Ow**" Laurapool said simply, before collapsing to the floor in a heap. "S#t" was all Logan could muster as he rushed to her side in a second, laying her on her back. "What the F#% have you done now, Wilson?" Her eyes stared back at him, lifeless and inert, as he gingerly pulled her claws out of her head, allowing it to begin the rapid healing process. He however had a groundless feeling, that even after the regeneration; Wade was not going to be waking up anytime soon.

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

_There you have it! The third chapter in a four chaptered arc that I have planned. Next time, on "Deadpool 'n' Laura: Odd couple"—Deadpool travels through Laura's mind, with his voices, and a mental projection of his body, to execute a search and rescue. Laura's mind is gonna be haphazard and all, and Deadpool will realize that she's caught in some psychic crap and will have to free her. Also, Laura and Deadpool face off against the GamesMaster! A grand finale of grand proportions! Also, more importantly, Deadpool and Laura talk to each other and work out their situation. I hope it won't take me as long as this chapter took me to update. But if it does, bear with me; Architecture can be pain. Again, thank you guys so much for reviewing, I appreciate it._

_Also, sorry I made Nori come off as a douche in the chapter but from what I've read in X-Men comics, it's not far from her character. In Nation X #2, she was trying to give Jubilee lip! Can you imagine? Jubilee was fighting alongside the X-Men against Magneto and other baddies way before Nori was getting the puberty migraines that happen pre-mutanthood that she probably even mistook for cooties! _


	4. Chapter 4

_I am so sorry that this took so long guys! I honestly thought I would be able to update in a couple of days. So, as a treat, the chapter is extra long and crispy! Thanks to Captain Deadpool and Standupsitdown: the newest readers of the story. Glad you liked it guys! But getting off topic for a while—did anyone else see the first issue of X-23? Damn. It was some pretty nice stuff. There was also some Helix in it for you guys who like it! I hope Marjorie Liu writes the crap out of that series. But seriously, tell the truth, guys—my fic is __**way**__ better, right?...right?...guys?...damn. Let's just get on with the freakin show…Last chapter of the first arc! Help me celebrate by stealing some of your parents' champagne and toasting to me! Y'know, unless you __**are**__ a parent. In that case, stop reading this fic cuz you're totally creepin' me out. _

_**Chapter four: To boldly go where no Merc has gone before…**_

_Hey, doofus! Wake up!_

_**Yeah, stop sleeping on the job!...Dammit, he's not budgin'. Okay, say something to cease the snooze.**_

_Fine…eerr…umm…oh, I got something! Look, it's an all-you-can-eat buffet!_

"**Where!**" Deadpool woke up, startled and frantic, leaning on his palms as he sat up on the floor. However, all that met his gaze was utter blackness—encompassing everything around him. "**Whoa…check out the abyss**" he mumbled. He quickly checked himself, expecting to be disembodied, but was pleasantly surprised to see that he had his body. His real body. "**Yes!**" he roared, happy as all hell. "**I have my body back! This is sweet!**"

_Hold on there, slick. It's technically not your body._

_**Yeah, it's basically the mental projection of your—oh, hell, you saw the Matrix, right?**_

_It's like that? Then he could've picked a way cooler body…with much cooler wardrobe._

_**I hear that.**_

"**Stop talking for a minute, peoples**" Deadpool said, halting the voices in his mind as he got up and stood on his feet. "**You mean my crazy plan to go looking for Laura in her mind worked? Nice**" He looked down and concluded that there was actually no solid ground beneath him. It was really just emptiness although he was surprisingly able to stand. "**Hmm. I wonder how I can walk?**" he pondered out loud. He turned about to make sure there was nothing that he was missing, or nothing that would be worth investigating. "**Wow. This place is really just complete void. Are you sure this isn't the Sentry's mind?**"

_**Snap!.**_

_Oh, don't encourage him!_

"**Okaaayyy…now if only Laura would like to show up in her mind so I can take her out of here—we can get this ball rolling**" Against all reason, he started to walk in no particular direction, calling out her name as loud as he could. "**LAURA! LAURA!**"

_**Why don't you try stabbing yourself in the head again? Seemed to get you what you wanted the first time.**_

…_I can never tell whether you're being sarcastic or not._

Wade threw his hands up, exasperated by his current condition. He couldn't find Laura and there seemed to be no way out of the nothingness. "**What the hell? How do we find Laura?**" he complained angrily, and even his voices didn't answer him. His head drooped and hung low, and he tried to think deeply about his next move. "**C'mon, Wade. Think**" he whispered to himself. Out of the blue, an idea struck him and gave him hope when he considered trying it. "**Here goes nothing**" he muttered.

He closed his eyes and started to concentrate: solely on Laura's memories, the ones that he could remember anyway. He assumed that if she was trapped in one of her own memories, he could access the memory scene _and Laura_ if he thought about and focused on it hard enough. "**C'mon, c'mon, c'mon**" he said, his teeth clenched as he strained his mind, riffling through Laura's memories, hoping that something would happen when he hit the right one. "**C'mon…I can't stand…being…in…this vast oblivion**".

_Now you know how we feel in your mind._

_**Ouch. Cheap shot. Even for you.**_

Wade suddenly ceased, taking a deep breath and pausing before he opened his eyes. Nothing. Still the inky all-encompassing blackness that was there before. "**Crap, it didn't work**" he observed.

_**In fact, I think there's even more of it than before.**_

_How can there be more nothingness than there already was? It's a void! It can't be quantified!_

_***Cough*Nerd-alert!*cough***_

Despair encroaching upon the Merc, he turned around once more to see if anything could be found at all. And this time, he was rewarded by a tiny dot of light, far in the distance. He shook his head, believing that it might be his mind creating something from nothing, making it seem as if there was a speck of light, gleaming like a beacon. He looked again. It was still there.

"**Sweet. Finally, I catch a break. I can't believe I'm saying this but…I think I should walk towards the light**"

_And that's about as annoyingly wry as you can get._

_**Can we just get this over with and check it out already? My shows start in about an hour.**_

By the time Deadpool had reached the light, he didn't know whether he had been walking for minutes or hours. The light had also gotten progressively bigger as he had gotten closer, and was now the shape and size of huge disk that a human could walk through. He stopped a few feet away as he regarded it falteringly, hesitating to go any further. "**Hate to say this but…I'm kinda terrified. Do we have to do this?**"

_C'mon Wade, man up! Laura could be in danger!_

_**Yeah, plus—we do this, save her and become heroes! People will like us! And more importantly, we'll be able to tell that 'Surge' chick to shove it!**_

_Oh please, you don't have to pretend—you like her! If nothing, your repeated reference to her as the "blue haired goddess" is a subtle indication._

_**Okay, fine, I like her! If Spider-Man can prefer chicks based on a certain hair color, then so can we.**_

_Dude, c'mon! We're supposed to at least pretend that we were affected by the events of One More Day!_

"**Well, while you crazy kids explain to the readers how we still know Spider-Man's identity, I'm going in**" He peered into the circle of light, and without giving it a moment's thought, went through it, damning the consequences. His vision was immediately assaulted by color and landscape, all heavily contrasted with the void which he had just stepped out of. It was a snowy scene in a mountainous region. Sparse trees which were some distance from where he had emerged, were pushed upon gently by a cold wind. Nevertheless, it wasn't all these things that caught Deadpool's attention in the otherwise peaceful scenery—it was what he saw happening in front of him.

He knew the place, from Laura's memories. When he had first been magically put into her mind, it was one of the more prevalent ruminations that he had found in her consciousness. She regarded it as one of the most important things to ever happen to her. She also took it to be the most tragic. It was where—and when—she had killed her own mother.

But right now, Deadpool didn't see that happen exactly. No, what he saw transpiring now was a perversion of that single moment that had affected Laura so immensely. She was engaged in a fierce battle with scores of people. But when he looked closer, he saw that it was more than one person, but the same individual—her mother, Sarah Kinney. Laura was fighting tens of blood-covered Sarah Kinney's, who also had claws like hers and she wasn't faring very well against them. Mainly because she was crying her eyes out, sobbing as she tried and failed to maintain focus, to kill wholeheartedly and gain the upper hand. The grief was making her lose the fight.

"It's only fair that you die as we did—by your claws as they were fueled by your anger" one of the many Sarah's said, catching Laura with a slash on her shoulder. She was promptly slashed back by an anger animated Laura, who still wept and the rage quickly dissipated as soon as it was used, sorrow taking dominance once again. "You are not my mother!" Laura wailed, tears running down her cheeks, lashing out at them inelegantly, as opposed to how she usually fought. "None of you are!"

In seconds, her lack of concentration led to her being cut from all directions, held by her arms and legs next and pinned down to the floor, as several of them slowly advanced on her while she was rendered immobile. She squirmed and tried to break free but couldn't; they were simply stronger than her. "We will make you feel our pain and hate, X-23. You're not Laura, and you never will be" they all chanted at the same time, and Laura appeared to give up at that, merely awaiting the inevitable.

"**This is about as close to a mash pit of rock star groupies as I'll ever get, so I'm definitely not about to waste this**" All the Sarah Kinney's paused as they heard the foreign voice cut through the air, leaving silence and confusion its wake. They all followed Laura's wide-eyed gaze as it went above their heads to the sky. By the time they turned and looked up to see who or what it was she was staring at, Deadpool was close to the end of his descent upon them, his blades drawn and ready to strike. _Slitccch_! _Shrankkch_! Laura shielded her eyes and turned away from the showers of blood spatter that accompanied the slashing sounds. When all had gone quiet in an instant, Laura opened her eyes and all she saw was Deadpool standing over her, covered in more blood than she was and all the Sarah's were down for the count. Decapitated heads lay everywhere, as well as severed limbs, making sure that the color of the snow around them was not white anymore. As she got up amidst the dead bodies of those who had held her down, she wiped her nose with the back of her hand, sniffing, her eyes red from the crying that had just stopped moments ago.

"Deadpool…" she began, her face no longer betraying the emotions that she had so strongly displayed before he had saved her.

"**Save the heartfelt gratitude, kid. Are you okay? How long have you been here?**"

"…For over a month, two days and fourteen hours"

"**What?**" Deadpool exclaimed. "**Are you sure?**"

"Yes. I realized that I was trapped in my memories due to the fact that I have been travelling from one familiar setting to another. The memory scenes are almost always imperfect though, involving slight or major differences, engineered to be offensive to me. Have you been trapped in my mind as well?"

"**No. I just got here. I was actually kinda the one…animating your body for a while**"

Her eyes narrowed as she considered what he said. "How much time has transpired in reality?"

"**Not more than a day and a half**" he replied.

"…It is strange but not improbable. Psychic or mental realms are always more complicated than they seem" she offered, not fazed in the least. Her face, however began to show that she was a little tense as she broke her gaze away from Deadpool's face. "Deadpool, I…I am…grateful for your assistance in saving my life"

Deadpool tried to dismiss it. "**I said forget about it, Laura. There's no need—**"

"Yes, it _is_ necessary. I have traversed most of my memories, fighting my way through them. I have relived parts of my childhood, and the years after it. The most enjoyable parts were turned into horrible scenarios and the horrible times made even worse. But when it came to this place, with my mother…I could not do it. I could not bring myself to kill them, even though I knew that these mental apparitions could not be her. Thank you for helping me do what had to be done"

"**Yeeeaahh, sure thing. But it's not like if something in your mind kills you here, then you'll really die…will you?**"

"I do not know. It is a possibility" Laura responded, her hair waving in her face as the soft, freezing wind continued to blow. "How did you enter into my mind as you are now?"

"**Long story, kid. The important thing is to figure out how we get the hell out of here**" He turned around abruptly, checking to see if he could still see the illuminated entrance that he had used to enter Laura's memory. He sighed resignedly and turned back to her when he saw no sign of it. "**Any ideas?**"

_How 'bout we forget about that for a moment and use one of these headless bodies to go tobogganing?_

_**Ooooooo! Sounds nice! I call shotgun!**_

Laura looked around at all the dead bodies around them. "Actually, I am more interested in finding out who is doing this to my mind"

"**What do you mean? I thought this was just psychic cooties from Emma Frost's failed class field trip into your mind. Or maybe, y'know, like the equivalent of a nightmare**"

"No. I am confident that it is something else. I would never pervert my memories to this magnitude, even by accident. Ms. Frost's intrusion or the nightmare reason, seem likely but the attacks seem so…co-ordinated, organized and precise. It is as if it is meant to weaken me in some way"

"**C'mon, we're gonna need more than a hunch here, Laura**"

"…But that is all that I have: a 'hunch'. However, it is…very prevalent" she explained, as Deadpool began to pace slowly in front of her. "It is alright if you do not share my views on this matter"

"**No, no, no, it's not that. It's just…how do we get this mystery character's attention so you can snikt his ass?**" He had sheathed his swords and started to follow Laura as she walked away from standing in the midst of the mauled bodies. But before she could answer him, the surrounding terrain began to literally shake, and in no time started crumbling, as if peeling back to reveal something hidden behind it. They both readied themselves in defensive poses, prepared for whatever or whoever wanted to attack. In no time at all, everything had disappeared: the bodies, the snow and the scenery itself, which took with it all sensations that it had evoked. All that was left was the void that Deadpool had previously been trapped in, except that now it was tinged a shade of red.

"**Trippy**" Deadpool commented, standing up straight once again. Looking over at Laura however, he noticed that she still held her stance, suspicion clearly exuding from her demeanor. "**Hey, Laura, you can rest easy now. I think this is just a different version of a void that I've already been in earlier on**"

_Nice. I am liking the touch of red. Who let the queer eye guys into the abyss?_

_**I don't think it was them. I once saw an episode where they confessed that they didn't do 'void makeovers'.**_

"No. Something is here with us. I can feel it" Laura eased up a little as she surveyed the emptiness around them. "Something that I have encountered before"

"**I don't get it. You got some sorta mental stalker boyfriend thing going on?**"

_**Boy, do we know what that feels like!**_

…_That didn't make any sense. You're doing that thing where you reply questions randomly, aren't you? _

_**Yes, it was a profound experience!**_

"**C'mon, let's forget about all this foreboding, ominous crap and share ideas for funny things to write in the disclaimers of fanfiction stories**"

"Deadpool—"

"**And then, we can have a staring contest! But no healing factors allowed; you'd use it to cheat…wait a minute, that means I can't play either and—**"

"Deadpool, shut up!" Laura growled, remembering why she found him so annoying. He was basically the opposite of her in so many ways. For one, she liked to remain silent and say only what was necessary whereas he could not stop talking. She preferred to stay focused at all times and even her thoughts were perfectly organized while he could not concentrate on one thing for more than a minute. She forced herself to continue tolerating his shenanigans for as long as it took. Reminding herself of his use and good intentioned rescue, she turned her attention once again to the predicament in front of them.

"Laura, it is so nice of you to deign being my audience once again" A voice boomed, making itself known as it seemed to originate from nowhere. Wade and Laura both hurriedly looked up, trying in vain to see if they could identify anything or anyone besides themselves. "Don't bother, children" the voice continued, "such an action is useless against one who is everywhere, the one who is the architect of your current quandary"

"I am not picking up any scent" Laura announced to the merc, as she unsheathed her claws, Deadpool doing the same with his swords. "**All that tells us is that the guy uses really good deodorant**" Wade quipped. "**Why don't you show your face, coward, so we can…y'know, slice it off!**"

_This is why we have no disembodied, ominous voices as friends. We're always threatening them!_

_**We don't need friends. We have knives! And guns! Most people only have one or the other!**_

"Don't you realize that I transcend this mental plane and others like it? The only reason why I have invaded Laura's mind undetected is because she provides me with that which nourishes my very being: pain" Laura listened attentively to the voice, attempting to recognize it from memory. She exhaled a breath that she didn't realize she was holding when she remembered. "I know you. You are the Gamesmaster" she stated.

"**You mean that douche from the X-23 one shot? The same dude who hijacked your brain when you reunited with your NYX friends because he liked your thoughts?**" Laura stared at Deadpool with an expression that showed she was taken aback about the fact that he knew such information. "**What?**" he asked. "**Too exposition-y? It mostly benefited fic readers who didn't know, anyway**"

"Quiet!" the Gamesmaster chimed. "Propelling Laura through her memories has been fruitful; her pain has magnified tenfold. It was what mainly drew me to her thoughts in the first place. At the time, I lied and told her that it was the way her thoughts were clean and organized as opposed to the chaotic nature of others. But in truth, I desired Laura because of the agony she had endured and the way it made itself manifest in her psyche"

"I was right about you. You are a painmaker, just like others who seek to control" Laura said. "But no more: I want our freedom. I will no longer feed you with my emotions" Seconds drifted by as they both waited to hear how the Gamesmaster would respond to Laura's demand to let them go. When he eventually spoke, what he said didn't surprise them in the least. "I don't think I will let either of you go. I will soon find a way into Deadpool's mind, although at present there seems to be something blocking me from accessing it. It is as if his mind has put up a warning barrier to those who would enter"

"**Going for telepathic walks on the beach in my head is a huge mistake, bub. And yes, I said 'bub'. It's not like it's trademarked or anything…is it? I hope not. I have, like, no money for court and stuff**"

Laura purposely ignored Wade as she continued to talk to their antagonist. "I have not changed my mind. I will give you no more emotional responses to feed on" Laura asserted. She and Deadpool were then unexpectedly rattled as the crimson void was instantly replaced by a seemingly unending desert like landscape, with flat, cracked earth stretching for miles in any direction. The unmistakable sound of thunder assaulted their ears and they saw that the sky was overcast with clouds that threatened to burst and rain down on the parched land at any moment. "**Wow. When did we get here? Seriously, Gamesmaster guy, you would make an awesome travel agent**" Deadpool suggested.

"Where have you taken us?" Laura cried out, attempting to get his attention once more. She turned to Deadpool and hoped that he would have answers. "Is this place familiar to you?" she inquired.

"**No! I thought this was one of yours again! Y'know, like, maybe you had your first kiss here or something**"

_**Yeah, this place is pretty romantic.**_

_Please. You think Alcatraz is romantic._

_**It isn't?**_

_It's a dilapidated prison that used to be one of the most awful places on earth…what do you think?_

_**So…it is?**_

"Gamesmaster!" Laura called out. "What place is this? Why have you brought us here?"

This time, he responded. "Oh my dear Laura—you said that you will not show me more of your beautiful emotions so I have found a way to evoke them from you. I had hoped I wouldn't have to unlock this part of your consciousness and let it loose but you leave me no choice. Good luck, Deadpool. Since I cannot change the perception of one's self on the mental plane, you still possess all your powers. You'll need them to defend yourself"

"**What the hell is he going on ab—**" Deadpool was cut short by the appearance of the soft droning sound of drizzling, as the clouds finally gave out. Laura spun round to face him as she held her palm out to feel the rain drop realistically into it. But that was not what had caught her attention. She shook her head in an effort to focus as she slowly started to feel herself slip away. "**Hey, this rain looks funny. Laura, do you know what this…is…**" Deadpool trailed off, staring at a Laura that was desperately trying to keep her composure, with both her fists clenched and her eyes shut tight.

"It…is…trigger scent" she breathed out, tortuously. She opened her eyes, which had turned redder than the void they had just stepped out of, and looked straight at him, a pleading look on her face. "Ru…run" she whispered, before collapsing to her knees, with her head bent low. "**Run? To where?**" he asked. He inched closer to her to make sure she was alright, and her new silence suddenly replacing her raspy breathing, did not put him at ease. "**Laura? You okay?**" he checked, as he tried to put his hand on her shoulder.

"RRAARRGGH!" Laura roared, as she precipitously leapt at Deadpool, sinking her claws into his chest. The force of her jump carried them a few feet back and she landed on top of him, pinning him to the floor as she seethed with unnatural rage. Deadpool rapidly gained leverage with his feet and was able to position them on her chest, effectively kicking her off of him. "**God, I hope those things are sterilized**" he joked, as he held his pierced, aching chest and attempted to sit up. To his shock, Laura was already off the ground and bounding toward him with renewed vigor. Forcing himself to stand up, he quickly put his hands on her head as she dove at him yet again with her claws, and executed a flip over her, allowing her momentum to carry her and make her fall to the ground which even now still greedily sucked all the trigger scent rain that fell on it.

_**Wow, talk about your extreme cases of Mutant PMSing!**_

_Whoa…that's racist._

…_**Racist?**_

_Aren't girls a completely different race from us men?_

_**It sure feels like it sometimes…but no…maybe?...probably not.**_

Wade currently ran the situation over in his mind as fast as he could before she charged at him again. From spending all that time in her mind after the bank incident, sharing her thoughts and memories, he knew that there was no way she was going to snap out of it, no matter what he did. She wouldn't stop until he was dead—which could not happen to him. As long as the trigger scent rain kept falling and he kept regenerating from his wounds, he realized that the duel could go on forever until the Gamesmaster stopped it…or unless he stopped Laura by himself.

He gripped the handles of his swords and assumed a preemptive stance as a feral Laura began snarling once she had focused on him again, preparing to attack. All it would take was one slice, aimed at her neck to take her head off and end this. But as that thought took precedence in his head, he remembered why he had come into Laura's mind in the first place: to save her. He couldn't kill her even if _his_ life was in danger from being lost. Also, a part of him realized that though Laura found him annoying, frustrating and asinine, amongst other things, just like other people…he liked her. Or he was at least starting to like her. He gingerly let go of his blades and braced himself for pain as Laura came speeding toward him. When she was a good enough distance away, she sprung up in the air as she attacked so she could come down on him from above. Deadpool managed to swiftly catch her wrists as she once again pinned him to the earth but groaned in agony as her feet claws impaled either of his knees to the ground, making sure he would not use them to maneuver her off. Her face was inches from his and Deadpool saw unveiled fury lighting it up, locking it in an angry scowl. Her teeth were bared against him, making her look like a wild animal that sought only death for its prey.

He struggled to keep her hands held tightly even as the trigger scent had given her adrenaline that endowed her with a sufficient amount of extra strength to give Deadpool cause for alarm. "**Hey, Laura…I know you're in there but you can't hear me…I know what the trigger scent does to you**" Deadpool said, his strained tone surprisingly low and serious for a change. "**I also know that you would never do anything…to hurt an innocent person**"

_Innocent? Dude, we kill people for money!_

_**Yeah, but it's only illegal in 50 states!...Wait, that's all of them.**_

"**Shut up, voices! Look, Laura…it's okay…you remember that memory you have of Wolverine…when he told you that you and him were too far gone…and that you should die for an innocent like Wolfsbane?**" Laura's only retort to this was to clamp her teeth down at him as she thrust her head at his in snarling burst of rekindled anger. "**Well, he was wrong…because it means no one would die for you…but **_**I**_** would, Laura…I'd let you kill me if it meant that you could be free…because you're a good person and you deserve better…like I do…like all people who've had the crapstorm lives…that people like us have had**" Laura, meanwhile kept angling for Deadpool, as she toiled to break her wrists free from his hold. "**But don't worry, Laura…I have a plan**" He paused for a moment as he looked past Laura's face to the skies that had all this time been drenching them in the mild downpour of trigger scent. "**Gamesmaster!**" he shouted. "**I wanna make a deal!**"

The Gamemaster's unmistakable bass voice answered the still-struggling merc. "What could you possibly offer me, simple one? What do you have for me that Laura cannot offer me?"

"**A mind that has suffered more pain than her's. Why do you think it has its own barrier? It's an absolute mess in there**" Before Wade could even react, the rain ceased to pour and Laura collapsed into an unconscious heap on top of him. After turning her over to lie her down on the ground and pulling her feet claws from his legs, he stood to his feet warily, withstanding the pain that gradually went away as it healed. "**Well, now that I have your attention, let me give you the terms. If I willingly let you in, will you let Laura wake up? I mean to her real body?**"

"Yes. She will awake regardless in a few human hours"

"**Good. Absolutely no pleasure doing business with you**" As he stood there, he closed his eyes and focused to give the Gamesmaster access to his mind.

_What're you doing, dimwit? You're giving him the keys to the castle?_

_**He's gonna eat us alive! Literally! Which sounds really gross!**_

"**That's the plan**" Deadpool admitted, as he continued to concentrate. "**Alright Gamesmaster, do your thing. I'm letting you in**"

At first, nothing seemed to happen as everywhere went quiet. Then Deadpool felt his brain illuminate with pain, making him fall to his knees. He instantly knew then that the Gamesmaster had entered successfully. "Oh yes…" the Gamesmaster purred, feeling the pain locked within Deadpool's head. "This is magnificient…so much pain…and it's made better by the fact that no one cares about you, unlike Laura, whose new found friends have given her 'hope'. This is wonderful"

"**Any moment now…**" Deadpool said to himself, awaiting the inevitable. "Yes" the Gamesmaster continued, "depths of agony whose levels I am yet to find are made available for…wait, what is this? What is happening? What is happening? NOOOOO!" The Gamemaster's voice echoed across the barren plains.

"**Yes! Gotcha, ya creepy motherf#$er ! That would be the insanity. I figured that if it could put the hurtin' on Emma Frost, an A-Grade psychic—imagine what it would do to you if you merged with it?**"

"AAAAGGGHHHHH!" the Gamesmaster screamed. "It's eating me alive, trapping me, wounding and weakening me! I must flee! I will not die like this!"

Just as he finished talking, a white light that seemed to originate from the sky, erupted forth and bathed the terrain in brilliant glow. Wade covered his eyes to shield his vision but the light grew in magnitude until the whole place was engulfed in it, obscuring everything from view.

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

The small fire cackled and danced in the pale moonlight as two figures huddled close to it for warmth. The forest loomed on all sides and a cool breeze from a nearby lake blew gently on everything, creating a scenic spot. The two figures sat side by side, facing the fire each in his or her own thoughts, until one of them spoke up. "**Sooo…what very realistic memory are we in now? I kinda forgot which**"

"It is the place where Wolverine and I first met, fought and subsequently came to an understanding"

"**Right!**" Wade exclaimed, balling his mask up in his fists, as he had decided to show his scarred face. "**Last issue of Target X! Very nice…soo…you think the Gamesmaster is gone for reals?**"

"I do not know. It is possible that your plan to assimilate and defeat him with your mental chaos worked" Laura said, eying the fire in front of her. She was dressed the same way she was in the memory when it had happened, also with the jacket Wolverine had given her, draped around her shoulders. "The problem now is: how will we escape the confines of my mind?"

"**Don't worry**" he assured her. "**He said that you'd pull a 'sleeping beauty' and wake up in a couple of hours**"

She turned to look at him with a confused expression. "But what about—"

"**I'll be fine here, kid. The search for my body continues, I guess**" he said, with a hint of dejection in his voice. Laura's expression softened and pity welled up inside her. It made her say something spontaneous that she afterward, couldn't believe she had said. "We can both share mine" she blabbed suddenly, immediately shocked that she had.

"…**What?...Are you…are you serious? Because this is not like a toothbrush or something—it's a body, Laura**"

_Who would even share a toothbrush?_

_**I'd share one with Angelina Jolie…Heck, I'd even share one with Brad Pitt.**_

Laura stopped herself for a moment to analyze what she had just said. It surprised her even more when she realized that she had meant it. "…Yes" she affirmed, turning to face him once again. "You have saved my life more than once. Sharing a body with you is the least I could do"

"**Well, then…uhhh…thank you?**"

"You're welcome" Laura said. The silence once again took hold and they both focused on flare in front of them. Laura however, faced Deadpool yet again. She decided that it was time to ask him. "Deadpool, I—"

"**Please, kid, call me Wade**" he proposed.

"…Okay. Wade, I would like to ask you something"

"**Shoot**"

"As you may not know, I was slightly lucid even after I was exposed to the trigger scent. I heard some things that you said to me, but not all of it"

Wade was now interested in where we she was getting at. "**Okaaayyyy. And…?**"

"…Did you mean what you said, when you recalled the time that Wolverine spoke to me about whom we die for?" she asked.

"**You mean about my dying for you?**" At that, Laura nodded. "**Well…I guess…I guess that I…I did**"

"Why? You have barely known me for more than a few days. And, you also know that I've killed people. Plenty of people"

_So have we!_

_**Yeah but don't you think that it's creepy that we record our kills in tally marks like Tweety?**_

_I'm gonna save us a buttload of therapy and say 'not really'._

Deadpool turned back to gaze into the hypnotic flame that slowly grew in front of them. "**Well, I guess that you kinda remind me of…a hopeful version of myself. You're a…you're a special girl, Laura. Most holier-than-thou types like Captain America just wouldn't understand you. I mean, you've been through hell and worse, like most Weapon X subjects, and yet…you still want to do the right thing. The facility tried to torture and beat it out of you, but you still…opt for the better choice. Even after all the abuse and pain that would send most of the so called heroes into insanity…you still believe in saving people. Even **_**I**_** don't do that Laura. I'm just cashing in on it with the whole mercenary thing, but you are a truly good person at heart. You don't see a lotta those, believe me. And I've seen a lotta suckers who think they're good people. They don't measure up. At all. So, the fact that you beat the odds and didn't become a soulless killer—**_**that's**_** amazing. So, yeah, you could say that…that I would die for you. In a minute**" He sighed deeply after he had finished, and looked back at Laura, who had been watching him all this time.

Nothing prepared him for what he saw. The usually stoic, blank expressioned, robotic talking Laura was looking at him with tears clouding her green eyes. Her lips had their corners upturned slightly, displaying her version of a smile. She was not babbling, which was uncharacteristic for her anyway, but it was clear that she was experiencing the conflicting emotions of sadness and happiness. "Thank you, Wade" she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, he quickly nodded in acknowledgement and returned to the blazing conflagration they had been looking at. "**Sorry**" he apologized, after some time. "**I don't really do well with the emotional moments**"

"Neither do I" Laura agreed, her voice back to its normal tone. "You said that you have no friends. But I believe that you can find some, just as I have"

"**Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not exactly gonna beg people to like me**"

_Actually, he did do that once, didn't he?_

_**Yup, he did. It was refreshingly humiliating.**_

They now both ceased talking and welcomed the calm stillness that gave way to the sounds of crickets and the whistling of trees around them. But Deadpool looked back at Laura, and couldn't just help asking her one last question. "**But you still find me annoying, infuriating, irrational, wearisome and bear homicidal tendencies toward me cuz I won't shut up, don't you?**"

"…Yes. Definitely" Laura shot back, with a straight face.

Satisfied, Wade smiled as he sighed to himself. "**Of course you do**" he reasoned out loud. "**Would be unusual if you didn't**"

END

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

_Whoa! That was long! Over six thousand words! Hope you had fun reading it and I hope that I won't take so long in updating again. But FYI, this was the end of the "Meeting of the Minds" arc and I really don't know how to proceed. I mean, sure, I have some awesome stories to tell in this fic with sweet characters but I don't know where to start. So, I need suggestions for the following:_

_One: Who should Laura's love interest be? I recently pieced together from Deadpool #27 that Wade is 35 or 36 years old. And Laura is 17. So that's definitely __**not**__ gonna happen. Julian, perhaps? Some other guy? An OC? Please suggest something._

_Two: Should I keep with the Deadpool trapped in Laura's mind thing? Because it would be fun, but I also love Deadpool doing stuff in his own duds. Then again, the fic name is 'X-23, merc with a mind', so it may be defeating the purpose. I was thinking that I would return Wade to his body but make it that the spell doesn't allow them to be more than a certain distance apart, forcing them to still be stuck with each other. Tell me what you think._

_Next time on 'X23, merc with a mind'—Wolverine tries to solve Laura and Deadpool's problem by taking them to see Dr Strange, who is Wolverines group member on which team? Yes, you guessed it! Enter: The New Avengers! I can't even reveal what baddie may make an appearance! It's gonna be a surprise!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Here it is—the beginning of a new arc! Fervent apologies for taking almost a whole godforsaken month to update! I've decided to milk the Deadpool trapped in Laura's mind thing for a little while longer. I hope it turns out well. The surprise baddie makes an appearance at the chapters end—hope you guys are at least a little freaked! And happy! Also, I want to say thanks, to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I also want to clear a few things. Such as the storylines I'll be ignoring in Main canon continuity. They are: Wolverine going to hell, the new Uncanny X-force, and the whole X-Men versus vampires thing going on in the pages of 'X-Men' title. But I might later use the Uncanny X-force thing later on though, if I find a way to fit it into my story. Apart from that, I recognize all else from Second Coming back to wherever. So, yeah, unfortunately…Kurt is dead. (It sounds so freakin' wrong. I love Nightcrawler! What true X-Men fan doesn't?) Let's get a move-on, folks!_

_**Chapter five: Want you to want me…to avenge you.**_

"I told you. I am fine" Laura insisted, for the umpteenth time. She currently sat at the edge of a bed in the Utopia sick bay, and Emma Frost stood in front of her, with her eyes closed, telepathically scanning to see if Laura was okay. Wolverine stood beside Laura, with his arms folded, his slightly angry expression tinged with concern. Behind Emma was Cyclops as well Drs. Rao and Nemesis, the latter having just finished running a physical examination on the recently awakened clone.

**Careful there, lady. You don't want a repeat of what got us into the mess I just helped clean up.**

_Hey, she's just making sure everything is fine…but I hope she doesn't look in our mind to see the…magazines…that we keep under our bed._

_**Really? We keep magazines under our bed? Sweet! Let me check our memories!…wait a minute, what's this?...'Housewife Monthly'?**_

…**What? The pages are glossy.**

Emma groaned as she opened her eyes, ending the scan when she didn't find anything wrong. "She's completely fine in there, Scott. And so is he, apparently. He basically talked throughout the whole thing" Nemesis took this opportunity to scoff, obviously not impressed with Emma's assessment. "We told you she was fine minutes ago. Reiteration is the refuge of a shallow mind, Emma"

"Don't make me change you to a scum filled vagrant with a severe mental deficit, James. It's not a real stretch from what you are now but I suppose it might teach you some manners" Emma shot back calmly, with no vehemence in her voice. Scott sighed because he knew that they weren't really mad at one another but just found each other arrogant enough to be excellent insult sparring partners. "Enough" he told them. "We needed both the scientific and psychic go aheads"

"So, what? You're saying that this…Gamesmaster freak just up and went, just like that?"

"It would seem so, Logan" Emma replied. "Deadpool's insanity disrupted his very psionic energy pattern, which was fed by the organized agonies of Laura's thoughts. It appears Deadpool may have saved her life"

**Damn straight! I am **_**not**_** the failure people make me out to be.**

_Yeah, but you've totally failed in making that piece of information known._

_**Ha! That means that you're still a failure!**_

"He'd better thank his stars that he _did_ save her" Wolverine said. "Or else it would've been _him_ that would've needed saving"

"He did save me. He is…a good person…even if he is an idiot" Laura admitted. Her statement made Logan smile, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and gave her a quick side hug. "It's great to have you back, Laura" he confessed, before walking away while gesturing to Scott that he wanted to talk to him. While they both sauntered away, Dr. Kavita Rao walked up to Laura, and began asking her questions. "So, Laura…do you feel strange or do feel as if something is out of the ordinary?"

"No. I feel physically normal, with an approximate temperature of 36.4oC and my current heart rate is 65 beats per minute. Isn't that satisfactory?"

"Ummm…yes, it is. Thank you" Dr. Rao blurted out, quickly walking away. "What's the matter, Dr. Rao? Freaked out by the Wolverine-esque assassinette?" Nemesis laughed, as she angrily pulled him by his arm across the room so they could attend to other matters.

_It might be that TV that hasn't properly educated me in the ways of the odd couple but…I think that they're totally in love with each other._

**Amen to that. Imagine us as the Best man. I mean, we've been the guy that kills the Best man who has a price on his head but we've never been the actual Best man!**

_**Actually, if they get married, we, uh…are gonna have to be bridesmaids, remember?**_

**Even better! We can reject inevitable advances from hot guys to feel better about ourselves!**

Laura visibly shuddered a little as she heard Wade go on with his voices inside her head. She inwardly vowed to strengthen her resolve and not cut her own head off. Emma was the only one left with her and she saw how Laura reacted. "Take heart, Laura dear. I hear him too. And though he isn't in my head, I feel like strangling him as well" Suddenly, out of nowhere, Laura gave Emma a barely visible smile and Emma gave one right back to her. But before long, the moment was over and they were back to being tentative around each other. The uneasy atmosphere, however, did not stop Laura from asking Emma a pertinent question. "Miss Frost?" she said, attempting draw her attention.

"Yes, Laura, is there a problem?"

"There is a favor I would like to ask of you. It is about Deadpool and I"

"What is it?"

"…During our time together in my mind, I promised him that I would…share control of my body with him. I would like to fulfill the promise I made to him" Emma looked at Laura, completely bewildered that she would go through with such a thing. "Are you sure? It seems like an…unusual situation. Do you even know how you would go about it?" Emma asked.

"I formulated a theory that may work. If you were to unlock my ability to instantaneously place myself in a Delta wave state of consciousness, I might be able to allow us to exchange control of my body effortlessly"

Confusion took even more of a toll on Emma. "Why would you want someone who is practically a stranger to control your body and put you in the back seat? It's your body! Doesn't it feel strange enough that he's in your head with you?"

**Hey, she hurt my feelings! What do I do?**

_Why don't you focus on the fact that she's hot as all hell?_

…**.That'll do.**

Laura stared blankly at Emma and after a while averted her gaze downward. "….Most things feel strange to me, anyway" she revealed. "I still do not fully understand human interactions as well as I would like. Sharing my body with someone is no less strange to me than the guidelines for relationships"

Emma continued to stare at Laura but nodded in understanding. She knew that Laura had always had it tough when it came to people skills so she figured that her approach to a situation like this would be instinctive, unrehearsed and would be done going by her gut. She just hoped that Laura knew what she was doing. "Fine" Emma agreed, placing her hand on Laura's head and doing what she wanted. By the time she had finished, and Laura had opened her eyes, Logan and Scott were coming back over to where they were.

"So, Laura" Logan started, subtly looking her over as he did, "Me an' Scott were talking and want to give a certain someone a shot, who might be able to help you out with your problem. Whaddya say?" Laura's brow furrowed a bit and she looked at Cyclops and then back again at Logan. "But you said we would need the sorcerer who did this to be present before it can be reversed" she reminded them.

"Yeah, I know Laura, but this guy's one of the best any of us knows" Wolverine explained.

"But it is not safe, is it?" Laura figured. "Otherwise, you would not be telling me in such a demeanor. Also your scents have changed: you are both nervous"

Scott decided it was time to step in. "It's not that it's not safe—well, there are risks, but that's not the point. The point is that even though he's one of the best, anything could go wrong, just as things went wrong when Emma tried to help. So, if you don't want to go along with it and play it safe, we'll completely understand"

**Are you kidding? There's a shot I could be in my old body? Let's get a move on! Nothing will distract me from focusing!**

_Look, over there! It's a distraction!_

**Forget about my body! Where?…Where?**

_Oh, that was too easy._

_**Wow. That was sadly stupid. But not unexpected.**_

"Deadpool seems to agree" Emma said, paying attention to his thoughts as they emanated from Laura's mind. They all stood looking expectantly at her and after a short pause, were not surprised when they heard her answer. "…Okay"

"Well, okay then. Summers, get someone to drop me and Laura off with the Blackbird. We're going to Avengers Mansion" Logan said, as he left to go get ready.

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

"Bah Logan, and take care, Laura. See you when you get back tah Utopia" Rogue said as Wolverine and Laura stepped out of a cloaked Blackbird into the Avengers Mansion yard. They stood watching her lift it into the air again, the only thing visible being the flames from thrusters, as they propelled the Blackbird up and then switched back to propelling it forward, causing the plane make a booming noise as she took off at a slightly subsonic speed.

**Awww, man! You told me we were gonna stop for ice cream, Laura!**

"I lied" she admitted, clearly fed up with him. He had been talking all throughout the trip, which made her a bit angry.

**Well, I can see that were still not above lying to one another, are we?**

_So what? We totally lied to her about us not minding life as a girl._

_**Uuhhh…no, we didn't.**_

"Jabberwocky" Logan called out suddenly, failing to startle Laura but succeeding in piquing her curiosity. "Why did you say that?" she inquired.

"If I didn't, in less than a minute, this places defenses would've been all over us" he replied. "Everyone gets their own code and changes it each week. That's what happens when Ironman builds your f#$in' house"

_Oh, so, he wasn't just callin' out Jabberwocky for no good reason…like how…someone I know does…that's not me._

**Oh, my God! You totally shout out Jabberwocky for no reason at all sometimes, don't you?**

…_Define 'sometimes'._

"Oh crap" Wolverine uttered, as he and Laura walked toward the entrance to the Mansion. "I'm probably late for the meeting we were supposed to have" They promptly went inside, stepping into a magnificent lobby. "Y'know, you didn't have to come in your ol' X-Force gear" he said, regarding Laura and outfit showing the midriff, the boots and the added choker that she donned. "You could've come in your casual's"

"I prefer wearing this" she insisted, as they made their way to the 'conference' room.

_Plus, this outfit is incredibly empowering. It's sexy but still business and professional, in an 'I'm-gonna-claw-you-with-adamantium' kind of way._

**I don't care what Laura wears, as long as it's not what she went to the Savage land with.**

_**You mean the old Sabretooth jumpsuit? I think it's chic…Even though I'm not entirely sure what chic means.**_

"Be quiet, Wade" Laura whispered sharply. She and Logan had gone up the stairs to the second floor, walking through to the hall's middle, which contained a room that had a large arched opening with no door, situated to the front end of the house, as the windows of the room provided a view of the front yard. Carol, otherwise known as Ms Marvel, was the one talking as the New Avengers all sat around a huge table that looked custom made. From the moment Laura had stepped into the house, she made out ten distinct scents. Now, she put faces to each one: Ms Marvel, Mockingbird, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and their baby Danielle, Dr Strange, Iron Fist, The Thing, and Spider-Man, who didn't sit with the rest, but clung to a wall in a sitting position. Former Osborn assistant Victoria Hand was also in the room but stood with her back to a wall as well, her arms folded as she listened in. Logan and Laura's entry caused them all to stop and look their way.

**Holy crap! We made it to the big leagues! Next stop: the Incredible Hulks team!**

_**Then the Hand!**_

_You mean the evil ninja team? Nuh-uh!...although I do hear they have dental._

"So glad you could make it, Lo—" Ms Marvel started to say sarcastically until, like everyone else, she spotted Laura."Uuuhhh…who's your friend?"

"Let's just say that she's someone that I brought from Utopia to see if the doc could help with a mystic thing" Logan explained partially as he made his way to a seat, Laura following him to stand behind him. He didn't want to tell them the whole story and he didn't want them to know who Laura was, leading him to tell them only what he felt was necessary. He however didn't bank on two people in the room knowing who she was.

"Hey, wait a minute—I know you!" Spider-Man suddenly exclaimed, undeterred even as Logan gave him the evil eye.

"I remember you as well, Spider-Man" Laura said with light disdain in her voice, while staring at him expressionlessly. "Yeah, I do know you!" Spidey continued. "You helped me, the black Widow and Captain America, take out an evil Tony Stark way back. As I recall, you called me crazy and said that you, Wolverine and everyone else hated me"

"You talked too much" Laura said simply, as if it would explain away all what she had said to him.

"That does sound like our Spidey" Mockingbird said, smirking as she looked at Spider-Man, who scowled at her beneath the mask.

Luke Cage was the next to speak up. "C'mon, Logan, if the Doc, who is a member of the team is gonna help your friend, we at least deserve to know who she is, man"

**Quick, Laura, they're onto you! Run away! Or bury your head in the sand like an ostrich!**

_That wouldn't do any good, Laura. They'll find out about you either way. They'll just hack your Facebook account._

_**No! Not that! Not her Facebook account!...what's a Facebook account?**_

_How the hell should I know?_

"Wait, I remember other stuff about her. She…she had claws, and she—"

"She's an X-Man and a clone of Wolverine called X-23, Spider-Man" Victoria helped, which made everyone turn to look at her now. "Right. Thanks Victoria" Spidey said, unsure how she knew that.

"Clone? Someone cloned you?"

"C'mon Bobbi, you sound surprised that some of the bastards we go up against everyday would do f$%ed up stuff like that" Logan said.

"Clones, huh? Boy, do I know how that feels" Spider-Man offered, trying his best like everyone else not to stare too much at Laura. "What I wanna know" the Thing said, getting everyone's attention, "is how Ms. Victoria Hand knows about all of this"

"Let me guess: H.A.M.M.E.R, right?" Ms Marvel guessed. Everyone knew that under Osborn, Victoria had learned about things that most people didn't even know existed. She was a well of information that was useful in getting to the bottom of situations that required top secret knowledge. Unfortunately, she still had not gained their complete trust, and they weren't afraid to voice their opinion about it. The Thing was just saying what was on everyone's mind. "Are you sure about what you're saying?" he asked.

"Pretty sure" Victoria assured. "Fine. You can let it go now, Hand" Wolverine warned with his teeth clenched. It did nothing to stop her from going on. "She was created in a place called the Facility, where she was trained, tortured and abused since she was little, into becoming a remorseless killer at the age of 9. She was loaned out to several people and has assassination kills went well into the hundreds. Suddenly, she escaped and went off the grid but then popped up in New York where she was 'working the streets' for money—"

"Shut up, Hand!" Wolverine threatened, unsheathing his claws while Laura did nothing but stare at Victoria.

"—and sometime later was taken in by the X-Men before M-Day. She's been involved in most X-Men operations, including Wolverines little black ops X-team that—"

Wordlessly, but with a growl emanating from within him, Logan had, in a flash, used one hand to pin Victoria against the wall she had been leaning on, with the claws from his other hand inches from her face. Everyone in the room had risen as they said one thing or the other to try to calm Logan down. It was seconds later that he broke his gaze with Victoria who stared at him defiantly, because he saw and realized that Laura was holding him back. Fuming, he turned back to the woman he threatened to maim. "She had _no_ right to—"

"It is okay. I do not mind" Laura told him, loosening her grip on his shoulder as he slowly let Victoria go.

**Hey, she was rude! I say let him waste her!**

_I only wish that she used to buy Logan lunch or something, so we could make a joke about him 'biting the "Hand" that feeds him'._

_**I say let her live. She may come in 'Hand-y' later on….okay, can we please stop making these jokes? No one's laughing.**_

**I bet they'd appreciate them if we were in the Hand.**

…_.Are you talking about the evil ninja team now or are you making a very naughty double entendre?_

**Can't it be both?**

By now, Wolverine had stormed back to his chair, still seething, allowing Victoria to steady herself, while she glared at him and at Laura who still stared impassively at her. It was obvious that she did not like the clone. "Um, did anyone hear the words 'black ops team' coming from Victoria or was it just me?" Jessica Jones looked at everyone as she asked the question, wondering if no one was curious. "Look, I'll tell you all about it as soon as we take care of the other matter that made me bring her here, alright?" Logan offered, unfortunately not convincing Mockingbird, who attempted to ask him other things about it "Okay, that's enough" Ms Marvel interrupted, stopping Bobbi from talking, effectively cutting the tension in the air. "Victoria, there was no need for all the exposition, especially when it was so invasive. And Logan—we don't almost jam our claws through our teammate's heads"

**Well, now that's a sucky rule. With rules like that, how do these people get anything done?**

_I thought the first rule of New Avengers is that you DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE NEW AVENGERS!_

_**No, you're thinking of the Secret avengers…..and the Fantastic Four.**_

"Yeah, sure whatever, won't happen again" Logan's half hearted apology was grudgingly accepted by Ms Marvel, who rolled her eyes when he said it. "That being said, is what she told us true?" Carol looked at him expectantly as she asked him, hoping he wouldn't evade the question. "Yes" Laura finally said, after Logan had taken too long to answer. Now, everyone's eyes were on her, nearly all of their faces expressing shock or disgust at what she had endured.

"Christ" Iron Fist murmured. "You mean…people actually did that to you?" Laura didn't say a thing but the aversion of her stare to the floor said it all. "Wow" Spider-Man said to himself, out loud. "And I thought I had it bad"

As they all digested the horrific revelation about Wolverine's clone, Dr. Strange was the first to break out of his contemplation. "What do you need me to do for her, Logan?" he tried to find out, anxious to help a child like her in any way he could.

Logan sighed loudly before starting to tell the Deadpool/Laura story as it had unfolded "Well, y'see…it's like this, Strange…"

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

"—and so we came to see what you could do for her" Wolverine looked around to gauge reactions to his finished story. Needless to say, a great majority of them were weirded out. His recounting of what had happened skipped some parts but he made sure he left the important, necessary stuff in it.

"Okay, what the hell is a Deadpool?" Mockingbird suddenly asked, her face streaked with confusion.

"I've heard of him" Ms Marvel revealed. "But I've never really had any run-ins with the guy. Can't say the whether the stories I've heard are true"

"Oh, believe me they're true, all right. The guy is insufferable" The Thing groaned, earning sounds of agreement from everyone except Strange, Jessica Jones and Victoria.

**Okay, that's offensive. Insufferable? Did they run out of cooler adjectives?**

_**Hate to say it, bro…but it looks like your precious adjectives have betrayed you.**_

**What? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!**

_I'm sure it's his fault, anyhow. Maybe they saw him getting snuggly with some adverbs or nouns._

**Hells no! I dated adverbs once…crazy bitches, them adverbs. And nouns?...well, nouns are whores.**

"So, you're saying Deadpool's stuck in her mind?" Luke Cage asked. "Sounds rough"

"And his body's missing? Where do you think it could be?" Spider-Man didn't really care much for the Merc, who he knew was a killer, but the Power and Responsibility code he lived by forced him to be concerned. Strange, realizing that whatever had happened involved dark magic, folded his arms, immersing himself in deep thought. "I suppose I could perform a trans-dimensional spell to search for his body, assuming that it might not be in this dimension. But I must examine their merged mind with my magics while Deadpool is…what's the word—'controlling' her body"

Wolverine frowned when he thought of Deadpool being in command of Laura again. "That's gonna be a problem, doc, cuz I don't think that she can—"

"I can bring him out" Laura's sudden interjection caught Wolverine off guard. "Emma Frost and I were able to reach a solution on how it could be done"

"Were you ever gonna tell me this?" Logan fumed, angry that she failed to keep him in the loop.

"It did not matter" she told him, afterward turning to Dr. Strange. "Would you like me to allow him be in control?"

**Oh God, please say yes! I really feel cramped and need to move my legs around a bit.**

_You do know that you cannot feel cramped or anything else for that matter when you're disembodied, don't you?_

_**Speak for yourself. I've had to pee since the second chapter.**_

"Umm….yes, sure. Now's a good a time as any" Strange agreed. Laura then proceeded to close her eyes as everyone went silent with anticipation. Focusing her mind and relaxing, she breathed in deeply several times and several seconds later, her head abruptly drooped. Logan, curious and concerned, reached out to gently shake her by her shoulder just to make sure she was alright. "Y'okay there, darlin'?" came Wolverines voice, somewhat soft due to the apprehension it carried. He was slightly alarmed when she unexpectedly raised her head again, breathing in deeply, as if she had just escaped drowning in water. "Jesus, Laura, what the f$# do you think you're doing, scaring the crap out of—"

"**Sorry Logan, but Laura is currently restin' it up in there**" Laurapool said, pointing to her head. The unforeseen change in Laura's demeanor and speech startled Logan and took all of them by surprise. "**Oh yeah! It's great to be back!**" Laurapool exclaimed in glee, with her hands raised in the air. By now the alteration in Laura had plunged all of them into confusion. "What just happened?" Mockingbird asked, to no one in particular.

"**I did, hotness! I finally prevailed through strength of mind and was able to become the dominant personality in this body!**"

No, you did not. I let you take control.

_Hey ho! Laura's in here with us now! Finally, a chick's voice residing in your mind. Imagine how less gay she's made this sausage fest seem!_

_**So what? Now were just "two guys, a girl and a pizza face"…he's the pizza face by the way.**_

Spider-Man was the first to put aside the awkwardness and try to find out what had transpired. "Deadpool? Wade, is that you?"

"**Spider buddy!**" Laurapool yelled as she went over to where Spider-Man sat on the wall, standing on the tip of her toes to reach up and hug him, which shocked the New Avengers a little. "**How have you been since Deadpool #19 through #21?**" she said, as she let go of him.

"What?" Spider-Man questioned, having no idea what he was talking about.

"**You know? That time when I was in New York to see you do your thing and we were attacked by a monkey assassin and I wore a dress and you took me to the Fantastic Four and then I stole your costume and—**"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear you, Wade" Spider-Man said, finally convinced. "Yup" he confirmed, talking to everyone else, "it's Deadpool alright"

"Wow. He makes Spider-Man seem bearable" Ms Marvel joked, whispering to Luke Cage.

"**Wolverine-like hearing people! I heard that!**" Laurapool said, folding her arms and pouting.

While everyone else was looking at Laura awkwardly, Strange was focused on performing a spell which led his hands and the space around them, to glow with a mystic light. "Oh dear" he simply said, when he had finished. "What is it? What's the verdict, Strange?" Logan probed, hoping he would at least know what the hell was going on with Laura.

"It appears to be as I feared" Strange admitted. By now everyone, including Laurapool, was looking his way. "The amount of damage done is getting worse by the minute. It is like a form of decay, if you will"

"How bad is it?" Luke's brow was furrowed as he tried to understand the magnitude of magic gone bad that Laura and Deadpool were facing.

"Their joint minds have become like a spinal cord. Just as a spine is comprised of intertwined nerves, so also is the connection between their psyches delicate, fragile and easily damaged if caution is not taken. However, as the melded minds are functioning as a spine in all respects, it means that the union between their minds is also keeping the two of them alive, in a very complicated way which I will deign to explain later. For now all I can tell you is that they should be okay but still stuck like this. That is, unless something is done. And something must be done or at some point…the change will become permanent"

"**But what about my body, doc? Do you know where it could be?**" Laurapool questioned, as she stood near Spider-Man, with her arms folded in front of her. "**Because there is no way that I'm settling for one of those Shield LMD's or something**"

…You are waiting for me to say something annoying which you will also find "funny", aren't you? I will do no such thing.

_How are you entirely sure that you didn't just do that? People reading this fic could be laughing their asses off right now._

_**Don't worry, she'll come around eventually. I used to speak in a monotone without using contractions too.**_

_No, you didn't. You used to talk like those girls on that show "the Hills". It was as if Brian Michael Bendis was writing your dialogue._

…_**I plead the fifth.**_

…..what is a contraction? Are you referring to the tightening of the muscles in the womb involved in pregnancy deliveries?

Strange looked at Laurapool with a wary expression, deciding to tread carefully in revealing the information he had garnered. "Well, about your body, Deadpool—I wasn't able to trace it but it was a quick spell, anyway. I would need more time to perform one much more likely to succeed" Strange then turned to Logan, who wasn't looking particularly cheered up by Strange's diagnosis. "Perhaps if Laura—I mean Deadpool…or both of them, I suppose—would stay in the Mansion a few days, where I can examine them properly. It would speed up the probability of a breakthrough in their condition"

"I don't know, doc" Logan said, mulling over it as he did. "Wade, is Laura okay with it?"

"**You mean we get to stay here? Let me ask her! Laura, you okay with a New Avengers slumber party?**" Laurapool squealed, which led Spider-Man to shake his head in embarrassment with his hand covering his face.

…Yes, I am willing to stay so Doctor Strange may examine us…also, everyone is staring at you as if you are crazy.

_**It was because he squealed, like a girl! No offense, Laura.**_

_I think it was cuz he said 'slumber party'. Has anyone had one of those since 1998?_

"**She says that she's fine with it…and that you should make her a New Avengers costume?**" Laurapool said, smiling innocently, while looking at everyone seated at the table.

"There _is_ no New Avengers costume, Wade" Logan disclosed irritatedly.

"**What? C'mon, even the Hand has their own costumes!**" she pouted, folding her hands once again.

_**Told you we should've joined them.**_

_That's what we should do. Let's get inside Hand…and then we can join the crazy ninja team!_

_**Nice! Let's both imagine high fiving to that since we don't have body parts!**_

Formerly, I might have had no idea what you were speaking of. But now that I reside within this place as a voice, I understand that you are making a joke about sex, correct?

…_**Uh, yeah, that's…that's what the joke was about, Laura…although explaining it kinda makes it less fun.**_

"Okay then. That's been settled. Logan, you can take Deadpool to one of the many spare rooms that the Cages are not using in their freakin' huge mansion" Ms Marvel smiled when she saw Luke and Jessica laugh at her comment.

"Oh believe me" Luke said, staring straight at Laurapool as he spoke, "anyone who's a friend—plus any one they call 'family'—is welcome to stay here. But since you're thrown into the mix too, Deadpool, I'm gonna have to warn you not to pull any funny stuff that'll make me put the hurtin' on ya. Dig?"

"**Wasamatter, Luke? Don't trust me?**"

"…No" Luke declared, all the humor gone from his face. He continued to give Laurapool a suspicious look as Logan rose up and gestured to her to follow him. "C'mon, Wade. You've had enough human contact for one day. Let me show you a room". Laurapool lingered for a while, ignoring the glares coming from most of them. "**Y'know what?...something tells me you guys don't want me here…but then again I bet that's just me imagining that ya'll are scowling at me**" she said, before following Wolverine and leaving the room.

"…Ummm, not to say that we shouldn't help them—because helping people is kinda our thing—but are we so sure we can trust Wade in here? I mean, the guy has some good in him, I think, but it's always preferable to keep him at arms length…using Galactus' arms as a default" Spider-Man said as soon as they had left.

"He seems to have much more at stake than even Laura. Let's trust in his sense of self preservation if we won't trust in his morals"

"Strange is right" Ms Marvel agreed. "This Deadpool guy seems obnoxious an' what not but he's also in genuine trouble in this scenario. He wants out too"

"I wouldn't worry about it. Guy gets out of hand and reverts back to his insane mercenary type behavior" the Thing said, hitting a palm with a fist, "then it's clobberin' time!"

Just as they all prepared to resume their meeting moments later, puzzlement animated their faces and made them look at each other, perplexed as all hell when they heard Laurapool's loud voice cut through the rather quiet mansion. "**Hey! I heard all that too! Gossip is totally rude!**"

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

A lone figure sat in a dilapidated, damaged lab, slowly drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair he had been in for hours on end. Waiting. Patiently waiting for a sound that would mean the beginning of vengeance. His patience was rewarded when suddenly, the glorious, mechanical beeping that had eluded him finally went off. Rising to go stand in front of the single working console in the lab, he checked to see if the beep confirmed his most disturbing want. And it did.

"Fantastic" he hissed, raising his right hand to support his chin, exposing the limb to the light of the huge computer he now used. It was robotic, fashioned of metal as were many other parts of him. Parts that had been destroyed since a horribly remembered beating he had received…as well as the huge explosion that accompanied it.

A woman walked into the room slowly, unhurriedly even though her manner clearly betrayed her enthusiasm. "I heard the beep. Does that mean that she's left the god forsaken island full of the mutant freaks?"

"Yes it does" he answered without so much as acknowledging her presence. He was trapped in his thoughts as they fed him ideas that he could use. Ideas that ended very badly for their much sought after girl. Finally, he turned to face his woman 'friend'. Actually, she was not a friend at all. More of an employee. "Tell me again: when was all my anatomical reconstruction completed?" he asked. "I could've gotten started on this much earlier"

"It was a few months ago. The scientists were insistent that you heal completely. What I don't understand is why you wanted us to return to this piece of s#$ lab that you should've forgotten by now"

"This is the only console that has the ability to lock on to out tracking device and find her" he reminded her, annoyed that he was explaining it once again.

"So now that we have her location, shouldn't we be going after the bitch?" she asked, hoping the answer would be an affirmative so she could hurt something.

"Don't rush. We have to get her present ready for her first. And then, we go to her" he affirmed, coming out of the shadows of the room to stand in front of her. His face, with its deep scars adorning it, would be a bit ghastly to most people looking at it. Luckily, she didn't care.

"Well, well, well. I guess this means that you're officially back…Dr. Zander Rice" she said, drawing out his name, smiling wickedly at him and his reaction to it.

His bad mood was currently replaced by a feeling of fulfillment. "Thank you, Kimura. You're too kind" He proceeded to walk out of the lab and her gaze followed him as he made his exit. "Come, Kimura. Patience has gotten us this far. Tomorrow is not that long away. And then, we'll attack as we see fit" his voice came, fading as he went further away out of ear shot.

Kimura looked all about her at the damaged lab, and thought of how the clone whore and her mother had destroyed it all. "Oh, believe _me_, Rice…that doesn't change the fact that I can't wait"

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

_Sweet mother of God! I am so sorry, people! For wasting your time when it came to the updating and for behaving like Marvel when it came to resurrecting the dead! I hope ya'll can forgive me. I will never take that long to update, ever. Pinky promise. Let's see if you guys can brace yourselves for the sixth chapter, when we see how Laurapool and Laura play well with others in the Avengers Mansion, and how they react when it's attacked by the Undead Dr Rice, Kimura and their facility familia! It's gonna be off the chain! Like a dog that can pick locks! Nuff said!_

_Also, I wanna give an official welcome to the newest readers of this story: PsyckoSama, MyDearDelirious and Winged Knight. Hope you guys stick around to see where this goes. See you guys hopefully in two weeks, at most, with a new chapter! _


	6. Chapter 6

_Firstly, a thousand miseries upon me, for taking this long to update a story! I really don't wanna become like those guys who update once a year. That's just awful. Thank you guys for bearing with me as I faced school, personal stuff and 'other' stuff, but I'm back now! I'm actually having this urge to make this particular arc a bit longer, seeing as it involves some of Laura's most personal baddies. But, ultimately, it'll pan out for as long as I feel it should be. Thanks for the reviews; they're my reminders that a group of awesome individuals rely on me for their dosage of craziness. Here's the fantastic sixth chapter and I hope it satisfies the addictive need for humor that you guys have—which I approve of, by the way._

_Also, I would like you guys to tell me in your reviews, if you can, your favorite chapter so far. It's like this tiny thing I'm doing, checking to see which one really got you guys going. If enough people tell me, I'll post a bonus chapter that I wrote which I can guarantee you will rock. Now stop paying attention to me and read that story, goddamit!_

_**Chapter Six: Home Invasion!...and no, it's not a makeover show.**_

Surreal was not an appropriate enough way to describe the magic of Stephen Strange, former Sorcerer Supreme, even as he casted various spells at once, illuminating the empty room so it was bathed in an otherworldly light which exposed the features of the two current occupants as they sat across from each other. One of them was focused, deep in concentration while the other—could not stop fidgeting.

Even with his eyes shut, Strange could feel that Laurapool was restless and this in turn, distracted him greatly. "Please stop your ceaseless fidgeting, Deadpool"

"**Funny. You sound just like the narrative**"

"Hmm?"

"**Nothing. Sooooo…what's cookin' in the magical realms? Any word of mouth about the whereabouts of my body?**"

"You must exercise patience for a bit more in that area. Interestingly enough, I've been delving deep into the recesses of your mind. Or minds, if I should say"

"**Hold on!**" Laurapool panicked. "**That's not really a smart move becau—**"

"Don't worry. I have woven the most powerful spells to allow me to take a peek. And though they are barely holding up, they are getting the job done"

Laurapool visibly relaxed at his statement. "**Oh. Whew. Don't wanna have the life of the Former Magical big cheese on my head**"

_I don't know. It might be a great way to meet chicks. 'Hi, I'm Deadpool. I've been to Six Flags, have my own power tools and murdered the Former Sorcerer Supreme with my craziness'_

_**You're right. That doesn't sound creepy at all. It does sound a bit needy though.**_

Please, be silent. It is no mean feat that I just recently stopped you both from attempting to name all the women that are uglier than Bea Arthur.

_**Good thing you did, Laurakins, cuz it's a never ending list! **_

Even as the separate personalities, which included Laura's very own psyche, conversed amongst themselves about the inane, Strange could not help but smirk as he considered the mind he now analyzed. Deadpool's antics, if looked at too closely, could be insurmountably misleading. "Fascinating"

"**What is it? And why are you smiling, doc?**" Laurapool let her curiosity force her to ask questions.

_Maybe he caught a glimpse of your mind naked._

Idiot. How can a mind be naked?

_**Seriously, I thought Emma Frost or someone would've played you the psychic after school special on that.**_

"Your mind is random, chaotic, unhinged. But just as scientists have hypothesized for metaphysical chaotic systems, your mind seems to have a pattern about it" Strange continued to work his spells as he revealed what he had found. "A very particular, unchartered pattern, dare I say. An intelligence that adorns the madness. I cannot help but think what it would be like if there was no insanity to disrupt the intellect"

Laurapool paused for a moment before asking "**…So you're saying that I could be Einstein or Reed Richards with a multiple personality disorder who's gone kookoo?**"

"In a raw manner of speaking"

"**Already knew that**" Laurapool said, unimpressed. "**…Are you sure you didn't do all of that for Captain Deadpool's benefit?**"

This time strange didn't respond but continued his hushed incantations, drawing on even more magical energies. His level of concentration betrayed its intensity when he all of a sudden, slowly began to levitate in his lotus position.

"**Riiiiiiiiiiigggggght. That's not freaky at all**" Laurapool murmured.

_Actually, to me it isn't. You know what is? Animals doing people stuff._

_**I know, right? The cat on Youtube whose meowing sounded like people talk really scared the #$% outta me.**_

It is an almost universally accepted fact that humans evolved from animals. It is not a leap in logic if some of our behavior would be similar.

_**That was an awesome Discovery Channel imitation! Now do me!**_

"If you wish to leave now, you may do so. The part if the spell that is integral to your presence is over" Strange's voice didn't come from his lips, which were still mouthing incomprehensible, inaudible words, but it came from his mind, spoken telepathically into Laurapool's. "I'll summon you when I am finished here"

"**Great. I get to go hang out with guys who don't exactly wanna invite me and the missus over to play twister**" Rising up even as Strange continued his enchantments, Laurapool quickly made her way to the room's entrance, but when she came out, she lingered against the door she had just closed. She was sure that the rest of the New Avengers that didn't stay in the Mansion, had either gone or were preparing to leave, as they had finished their group meeting hours ago. It was now evening although the quality of the glow in the room her and Strange were using had hidden that fact rather effectively. She knew that she could go talk to whoever was still in the house which would annoy them, but somehow, knew that that was what they were all expecting and a part of her didn't want to give them the satisfaction.

_Hey, c'mon Wade. Don't let 'em get to you like this. _

_**Yeah. That's our job, buddy.**_

_Can't you be supportive, just this once?_

_**No! Cuz he forgot my birthday!**_

_You don't have a birthday!_

_**So? He still forgot it!**_

Laurapool sighed deeply, waiting in vain for Laura's input, completely sure that she wouldn't have one. It made her surprise all the greater when Laura's voice suddenly cut through the silence to speak.

…They are right…You should try not to listen to what people say about you. It is one of the harder lessons that I had to learn as well.

At that, Laurapool smiled. "**The voices have it. Let's go disturb the peace**"

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

"You know that you don't have to do this, right?" Danny Rand stood leaning against the wall in the sparring room of the Mansion, in his costume but without his mask, watching Victoria Hand—who was now dressed in a sports top, tights and sneakers—stretch and work up a sweat.

"Yeah, but Captain America suggested it and I agreed with him: if I'm gonna be staying with you guys and doling out advice on how to handle situations, that means that I'm going to have some of the craziness that is your superhero lives, affect me as well. To that end, I should really learn some more defensive techniques. You _are_ the martial artist expert in the group. I would appreciate a lesson or two"

"I guess that makes sense" Danny considered, as he looked outside through the windows. "But were gonna have to make this first lesson quick. I have a civilian identity that's just begging to be remembered"

"No problem" she agreed, standing and waiting for him to come face her. "So, do you know any fighting techniques at all?" he asked as he approached her.

"Osborn did make all the non-combat personnel in H.A.M.M.E.R take lessons. But I always found a way out of them. I prefer the huge guns" she smirked.

"Soooo…you _don't_ know how to fight?"

"I didn't say anything about that" she replied, getting herself ready to fight as she stood in front of him. "But you do know that you have to go a bit easy, right? I mean, you _are_ a freakin' martial arts expert"

"No problem" he assured her, suddenly surprised as she rushed at him. Kick, blow, kick, sweep; it was a wonder that he was able to dodge in time due to the fact that her initial burst of speed caught him off guard for a moment. Seconds later though, he was able to analyze her rhythm and foresee her tactics. She was obviously trained a bit, but he was Iron Fist. After dodging a well executed left hook from her, a heel kick from her right leg came thrusting in his direction, but he caught her foot with both hands and spun it round by force, causing her to flip and land on her back. "…Ow…thank God for these awesome floor mats" she said, attempting to get back on her feet.

"Hmm. You're right. You've had training. I see elements of boxing, some judo and tae kwon do. Nice way of combining them, if I must say"

"Uhh…thanks?"

"You really should try to keep your speed constant. The minute you let up, the enemy takes advantage"

"And then he flips me onto my back. Got it" Holding out a hand for him to help her up as she knelt on one knee, she started panting a bit from her recent energy exertion. He brought her to her feet but she accidentally stumbled forward, causing him to steady her with both hands on her shoulders. A slightly awkward moment began as they both looked each other in the eyes, both of them almost oblivious to the voice that suddenly started to resonate all through the training room.

"**Victoria's heart skipped a beat, her mind telling her 'no' but her emotions saying otherwise. She thought that for a split second, she might have seen expectancy in Iron Fist's eyes that wanted her to melt into his arms, to give him a chance to make her his own, to tame the wild heart that they both knew was its own master. It was a battle of wills, but not to see whose was stronger—**"

The awkward moment had long ended and Victoria and Danny were now left standing side by side, looking bewilderedly at Laurapool, who stood near one of the entrances to the training room, running some sort of narrative, complete with dramatic gestures and pained facial expressions.

"—**no, but to see whose was weaker, to see whose would give in first to what they both wanted but had no courage to admit to the other. But, oh, Victoria's was definitely getting weaker. Cuz she could not stop thinking about his huge, large, throbbing—**"

"Deadpool!" Iron Fist promptly yelled.

Laurapool stopped and opened her eyes, slightly irritated that she had been interrupted. "**Damn. It's times like this that I wish my alter ego name was the short form of Richard**"

Another sex joke, I presume? I do not understand why you are obsessed with intercourse.

_**I don't even get it.**_

_Look at it this way: Iron Fist would've yelled out the short form of Richard right after all that stuff that Wade was saying._

_**Oh…Ohhh! Eeewww! C'mon man! This is a family fic!...Y'know, apart from the gore and swearing.**_

"What're you doing here anyway?" Iron Fist asked. He knew that Deadpool was in the body of this 'Laura' person, but it was still a bit weird because nothing gave away the fact that it was Wade and _not_ a young teenage girl, that he was looking at. Well, nothing except for the fast talking craziness that resembled Deadpool's M.O.

"**You may not know, but I also moonlight as an awkward moment inspector. You two were clearly in violation of rule 616**". Laurapool paused, waiting for their reaction as they stared at her, unsure of what she was talking about. "**…Seriously? Nobody got the passing reference to the Marvel Universe designation code that I threw in there?**"

"Look" Danny started to explain, "I was just showing Ms. Hand a couple of fighting techniques and improving on her own"

"**But she's more of an assistant type. Why is she learning how to fight? That doesn't seem like something she'd need to learn, y'know, unlike her typical Hand jobs**" Danny couldn't stop from snickering a bit after Laurapool's slightly suggestive comment, only to have Victoria glare at him.

_**Can I just say that I love her last name?**_

_You perverted voice. Is there anything dirty that you don't like?_

_**I don't know…maybe actual dirt?**_

"I'm brushing up on my martial arts because 1) Steve Rogers advised me too, 2) It would make sense to learn how to defend myself, what with the crazy shenanigans that go on with occupants living in Avengers Mansion and 3)…I want to be able to beat the snot out of some people" Victoria said, defending her motives.

Laurapool appeared to ponder Victoria's explanation as she made her way to where they stood. "**Hmmm. Beating the snot out of people is a great reason for doing anything. But you really should've gone somewhere else for the training, Vicki. I mean, Iron Fist? Really? When last did he beat anybody up?**"

"Excuse me?" a perturbed Iron Fist inquired.

"**You heard me, man. You're kinda non threatening these days**" Laurapool observed, as she stood in front of Danny with her arms akimbo. "**I mean even your origin story is a bit..ehhh**"

Danny was now getting a little irritated. "What do you mean 'ehhh'?"

"**You know what I mean, dude. You fought a dragon. A dragon! What's so hard about that? People in the medieval times fought dragons…and they **_**still**_** sucked!**" Laurapool's index finger from her right was slightly jabbing his chest now, while her left hand still stayed at her waist. "**Look at your symbol or insignia or whatever—it's a freakin flyin' worm of some sort! You tank, dude. You're the human equivalent of the series finale of Lost**"

_**Hey! He stole my joke! I was the one that told him that!**_

_Just think of it as 'Mind Rent'. I mean, you have to pull your weight around here somehow._

_**Really? What do you do?**_

_I block his mental pop-up advertisements._

"Wow" Victoria said, suddenly cutting in after Laurapool's comment. "That last one was a bit harsh"

Iron Fist looked at Victoria and back at Laurapool, who was grinning at him mischievously and subtly daring him with her eyes to do something about it. Knowing a little about Deadpool and how he was, Danny knew that this was how he had fun and that he was berating him now, just to provoke a reaction. Iron Fist smiled, folding his arms as he did. "I am not gonna fight you, Deadpool. You're in a body that's not yours and it would be weird"

"**C'mon, man**" Laurapool said, stepping back a bit and standing in a wait. "**Show me what you got**"

Wade, what are you doing? Why are you angering him on purpose for no reason?

_**Don't worry, Laura. It's all part of our process…I wonder if we have a process.**_

YOU ARE THE 1,000TH PERSON TO BE INSANE IN A FANFIC! CLICK HERE TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE!

…_Sorry everybody. My bad. Can't block 'em all._

Victoria thought Danny was about to start to walk away, but was shocked when she saw his leg suddenly at Laurapool's face, barely blocked in time by her hand. "Son of a bitch, that was really fas—" Victoria started, only to see them plunge into a rapid, skillful spar that she was having trouble watching while knowing what was happening.

Having landed in a crouch from a back flip, Laurapool was quick to look up and confirm her suspicion of Iron Fist coming down on her from above. Timing it perfectly, she stood quickly and grabbed his leg when he was in range and threw him across the room, only for him to roll with the force on the floor and get up to his feet like she was, facing her. "**Okay, my bad. You **_**still**_** can kick ass. I really just wanted to impress Ms. Hand. How 'bout we settle this another way? Game of Twister? Gin Rummy? Hot dog eating contest?**"

"You're the one who insisted we spar. Besides, it's all friendly" Iron Fist maintained as he ran at Laurapool and jumped at her with a heel kick. Seeing it coming, she spun to her right, simultaneously dodging it and attempting to send her elbow for his face. Unfortunately, she felt him block with his left and deliver a devastating right to her midsection. The blow slightly making her move back a bit, Laurapool steadied herself as she held the area he had hit with one of her hands. "**See? That is not what a spar feel likes. Offer's still on the table, though. 52 card pick up? Russian Roulette with a squirt gun?**" At that, Iron Fist simply changed the fighting stance that he had been in. "**Dude, don't be that way! We totally kicked butt up in Deadpool Team-Up #886. We're buds!**"

_C'mon man, don't be a wuss. Get him!_

_**Yeah, and make sure you get beaten. I've got a hundred riding on Iron Fist.**_

_Who did you bet with?_

…_**Umm…mysel—look, it gets lonely in here, alright?**_

Ignore the ridculousness of your voices. My body must have healed completely by now. You must finish the fight that you have started.

"**Mooooomm!**" Laurapool moaned. "**…Fine. Any pointers?**"

There are a few pressure points that you can access, and I have taken note of two weaknesses in his style. But you did not consult me before starting a meaningless fight so I will not help you.

"**What? You're leaving me hanging?...I respect that. Very mercenary of you**"

By now, both Danny and Victoria were yet again looking curiously at Laurapool as she conversed with thin air. "Uhh…are you alright, Deadpool?" Danny asked, concerned that something was wrong. "**Fear not, Iron Fist. All is well**" Laurapool responded. "**I was just having a conversation with voices that aren't really there. I mean, all the celebrities are doing it, so why shouldn't I?**" Danny was about to question further when Laurapool suddenly rushed at him, eager to resume the fight as she started with a couple of rapid missed blows and high kicks to his face. He attempted to spin kick her just as she swept the floor, looking to connect with his legs. They both missed but it was Laurapool that recovered first. By the time Danny readied himself for her as he faced her, her facial expression made him think that she had seen something horrible. It was then that he realized that she was looking behind him. "**Look, some things are behind you! They're invading the Mansion!**"

"Where? Where?" Iron Fist inquired, looking down around him to see if something was weird or out of place. Before he fully realized he had been tricked, he felt a strong right hit his abdomen, and then a left hit his temple, and the sole of a right foot hitting his chest. Reeling back a bit, he saw a flat footed low kick headed toward his crotch, with Laurapool's toe tip pointed menacingly at it. Focusing, he caught it with both hands just as it was millimeters away from his 'good parts'. "Really, Deadpool?" Iron Fist lightly admonished, holding her leg in place as they stared at each other. "Groin kicks? That's a bit low. Even for you"

"**I fight dirty to win if I have to…and I have to win **_**all**_** the time, so do the math**"

"Too bad. You couldn't even get the kick in"

Laurapool's grin got wider. "**Oh, I was countin' on you to stop it just there, slick. Check again**"

Confused, Danny looked down and finally understood what she meant. A shiny metal claw, emanating from between her toes, was a hair's breadth away from his manhood. Infact, he could've sworn that it was lightly pressing against it. "**Laura's toe claw and your junk: a match made in heaven, don't you think?**"

"Deadpool…" Iron Fist bellowed warningly.

"**Fine, fine, fine, it's done**" she concurred, sheathing the foot claw as Iron Fist let her leg go. He looked at her for a moment, and then despite himself, smiled, as he began exiting the sparring room, shaking his head. "Sorry, people, but I really have other stuff to take care off"

"Thanks for the lesson" Victoria called out as he left the room. Moments later it was just her, Laurapool and a sudden silence that threatened the atmosphere with awkwardness as they stared uneasily at each other.

_Okay, careful what you say to her. Just calm down and say something cool._

_**Or cut the crap and propose.**_

More moments passed before Laurapool finally spoke up, albeit reluctantly, with one of her hands put nervously behind her head. "**So…what I did was pretty cool, huh?…You wanna make out or something?**" At that, Victoria simply rolled her eyes, sighed and made her way out of the room too.

_Dude, what was that?_

"**I don't do well under pressure! But forget that. She totally wants us!**"

_**How can you tell?**_

"**Because she rolled her eyes, duh!**"

_**What?**_

"…**Isn't rolling eyes the universal girl signal for 'I-want-the-crap-out-of-you'?**"

…_You really are insane._

"…**Shut up**" Laurapool said dismissively as she started to leave the room. "**Oh God. I really need to hit the showers. Thanks to Laura's powers, I can vividly smell the sweat I worked up all over. I can smell everyone's sweat**" Laurapool silently made her way to the room they gave her, with her nose wrinkled as she covered it in vain with her hand.

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

Laura woke up a minute before 5:00 in the morning. The comfortable, king sized bed situated in the middle of the room enveloped her body, making her frame look tinier than it was. It was what another person would call a 'very cozy bed', but to someone like Laura it made no difference either way. She had always awoken at very early hours in the morning, a habit ingrained in her since her Facility days. Looking to a chair at the foot of the bed, she saw where she had kept her X-force gear the night before. Laura now sat at the edge of the bed, thinking of the previous day's events. Having to share a body with Deadpool caused it to be anything other than ordinary or normal. She suspected that Dr. Strange would still be in his meditative state, seeing as he had told her and Deadpool that searching for a solution and for Wade's body would take time due to the inter-dimensional astral journey that he would take. Laura didn't particularly see the logic in hoping for things, although in this particular instance, she mustered all the hope she could find within herself, anxious for Strange to find a way to solve their problem. The fact was that, she had grown…accustomed to Wade. He was also nice to her, even if he annoyed the living daylights out of her. But she had to face the fact that they needed to do something about their current condition, before it became permanent.

She took off the undershirt and shorts that she was wearing, and put them near her uniform, which was the only thing that she brought to Avengers Mansion. The undershirt and shorts that she wore to bed were actually from the room's closet. They had given her a room that had everything a girl of her age would need. Wolverine had told her that this was yet another Stark related benefit of staying in the Mansion. Without wasting time, she took off her clothes and stepped into the en suite bathroom, not even noticing or caring that it was as large as the rooms that they had back at Utopia. Quickly stepping into the shower, she turned it on and just let the spray fall on her for a while, as she leaned forward against the shower wall, with her head bent low and her forearms supporting her frame. She began to enjoy the sound of the water rushing from the showerhead to her body, running off into the drain as opposed to the usual sounds that she heard: voices with everything and nothing to say. Normally, as soon as she woke up, Wade and his voices were already saying pointless things, making jokes. The rare silence in both her mind and her surroundings was cherished more fondly by her, but as she came out after a perfectly timed, indulgent 20 minute shower, toweling herself off, she heard the voice that meant her quiet time was over.

**Morning, Laura. What's going on? What're we-aaaand you're naked. **

_**Yeah, I would close my eyes, but I don't have any, so…I'm technically not looking.**_

_Wow. You're leering at and checking out your current body. That's a whole new definition you're bringing to the word 'disturbing'._

_**But you're looking too!**_

…_Don't change the subject._

As Deadpool's two companion voices got into an argument that Laura was almost certain would somehow invariably come around to the subject of Bea Arthur, she ignored them and hurriedly got dressed and found her way back to the training room, which had a variety of gym equipment on the far side of the room away from where people fought and sparred. She considered lifting weights but instead made up her mind as she went straight for the huge punching bag. At first, she began to punch away on it strictly for the exercise but as she continued and the occurrences of the past week came to mind, she punched at it a little more fiercely. Pretty soon, the bag represented all that had ever gone wrong with her life. Every miscalculation, every fault, every mistake—even those that were not her fault—they all just threatened to drown her in themselves. In no time, she was grunting with every blow, grunts whose roots were in anger and not physical exertion. Those, however didn't last long and they soon became snarls, accompanied by the unconscious unsheathing of her claws. Before she could get a grip and focus, the bag was in pieces and the sand from inside it was everywhere. The realization of what she had done hit her and she simply stood there, claws still unsheathed, contemplating her handiwork. It was then that she smelt one of the scents in the house approach the gym. Normally she would feel compelled to be gone before the person even arrived, but now she simply still gazed at the leather and sand scattered across the floor, incomprehensibly transfixed on it.

"Umm, is everything okay in here?...Laura?...Is that you?" The figure of Jessica Jones-Cage made its way toward where Laura stood. "Oh my God. Laura, what happened?"

Laura didn't even attempt face her when she finally talked. "I am sorry. I will cover the expenses for this damage" Waiting a couple of moments before attempting to walk out of the gym and back to her room, she was surprised when she was stopped mid-walk, by Jessica. "Wait, Laura…Is something the matter? I mean, is something bothering you?...This might sound strange since I only met you today but…you can talk to me if you want"

The offer shook Laura up a bit and she was surprised at herself for even considering it. "…Talk?" she asked, with her back to Mrs. Jones-Cage.

"Yeah. Talk" Jessica said more confidently, walking up to a Laura who still wouldn't make eye contact with her, taking her hand and guiding her toward seats that were positioned against the wall. Once they were seated, Jessica took note of the fact that Laura still would not look at her but stared at the floor. She gave Laura a quick once-over and could see that despite her beauty and regular looking appearance, she was one screwed up mess of issues. It wasn't that obvious when looking at her, but now that Jessica had spoken to Wolverine and heard him talk about her, it was like she saw nothing but pain and suffering when she looked at the teenage clone.

"I…I have no idea how you're feeling, Laura. And I would never presume to even understand what you are going through. But if it helps for you to just talk it out with someone—I know it does for me—I really think you should"

**She's right. Let's talk it out. But let's do it with someone famous like Oprah.**

_I vote for Jerry Springer. With Laura's body, we can finally get our beads that we so richly deserve._

Laura slowly but surely turned her head to face the woman that was trying to reach out to her. She knew that Jessica was telling the truth about caring how she felt. Her senses helped her with that one. But more than that, the former weapon saw kindness in her eyes that was inexplicable logically. But from spending time around people who genuinely seemed to care for her, she had come to recognize that emotion in people.

"…Why do you care about me? There is no logical reason for it"

Her usual emotionally distant tone caused Jessica to laugh bitterly. She just could not understand how someone could've screwed a little girl's life up so bad with torture, abuse and deprecation. All because she was cloned into a world and a life that she didn't choose on her own. It made Jessica physically sick to her stomach to hear about such mistreatment.

"Care and concern aren't feelings that come from logic. They're emotions that everyone feels and expresses"

**Wait, does that mean the 'need-for-stabby' is an emotion? Cuz I definitely feel that regularly.**

"But I do not feel them as freely and as often as others do. Most of the time, the reason I do things is not because I know they are right but because I have been told to do so" Laura told her, in her mind recalling when Cyclops ordered her not to kill. "I have not experienced many of these…'emotions'—that people say they feel—first hand. Maybe it is due to the fact that I am not a real person"

"Stop that, Laura!" Jessica said sharply, eliciting a strange look from the younger girl. "You are a real person. How could you even think that you're not?"

"I am a clone. That is a fact. It does not cease to be true just because I want it to" Laura stated. At this point in the talk, she had become a bit at ease and spoke confidently. "Is that what's bothering you?" Jessica asked, all the while suspecting that it would be a reason far more complex. Laura turned her green eyed stare away from Jess yet again, as she contemplated how the recent time trip through her mind, reliving the nightmarish moments of it all, had put her off. The Gamesmaster had forced her to fight her way through her own memories, and every second she was trapped in her own mind was the worst torture. She just wanted to forget all of it. But she couldn't; she could never forget about it. The complicated emotions that she had successfully suppressed were now all rushing to the surface, and threatening to plunge her into the deepest of confusions. And with it all, came that familiar need to cut and mutilate her own flesh. She quickly stood to her feet, her fist balled up in determination. "I do not wish to discuss this anymore" she said adamantly.

"That's…that's okay. We don't have to talk about it anymore"

…**Well, that went well. Yay for comforting.**

Acknowledging the reassurance with silence and unclenching of fists, Laura knew that a part of her still wanted to say how she felt. She somehow couldn't stop herself from proceeding to say what was on her mind. "…I can never escape my past. No matter what I do, or decision I make. I am a danger to everyone…and even myself" She considered telling her consoler about how she struggled to justify her existence each day, but something stopped her. It was the same thing that stopped her from connecting with people because she just didn't understand them, and she believed that they could never understand her either. Although, facing Jessica once again—with her trademark impassive expression adorning her face—Laura knew that the older woman had done what she had out of kindness. A tortured and abused clone such as herself may not have experienced most emotions first hand, but she certainly remembered expressing that particular one. A little boy, Henry, whom Dr. Rice had so long ago asked her to kill, was alive today and he was the prevailing proof that there might be hope for her. So, the compassion that Jessica felt toward her; that _was_ something that maybe, she _could_ understand.

"…Thank you. For attempting to comfort me. It was…nice" she admitted, with sincerity in her tone, before walking away and exiting the training room, ignoring the pleas of Jessica asking her to stay. A new anxiety encroached upon Laura as she made her way into her room, and sat at the edge of the bed. It was the unease that came with the realization of how interacting with the people in the Mansion could make her feel. She did not want the same feelings, which had threatened to come out minutes ago, coming out at all in the future. She decided there and then to keep to herself and to cease spending too much time being in control. She just wanted to be left alone for the meantime.

"Wade…"

**What can I do you for, Laura?**

"I wish to experience more solitude while we are in this place. It would logically be beneficial for us both, if you—"

**Don't worry, Laura. You won't have to steer the mind wheel unless absolutely necessary.**

_I'd like to point out that he's a terrible driver. Even of minds. Hell, especially of minds…I call shotgun, though._

Acknowledging Deadpool's response to her request and resolve as satisfactory, she fell back onto the comfort of the bed but didn't sleep as expected. She instead lay awake, allowing her thoughts to drift off while she enjoyed the feel of the silence which was fortified by the fact that even though there were voices in her head—she was alone.

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

Luke Cage was a very patient man. He liked to think that Danielle his daughter would one day benefit from that. There were times that his 'colleagues' would do things that he felt the need to react to in a raw, spontaneous way, but he had always managed to hold himself back. He kept telling himself that he got the hang of it more and more each day, partly due to how happy his wife and kid made him. He had become a better father, husband and even hero in general—all because he had honed his patience. However, at the moment he felt he was losing his cool and his patience was slipping away way too easily. All because of Deadpool.

"**Why can't I come?**" Laurapool whined.

Luke sighed, and his mind raced to think of a reason to give Deadpool, before his New Avengers team—who stood behind him—lost their patience and left without him. They had barely gotten into the groove of the morning when Steve Rogers had called for help with a monster problem in Jersey, and time was wasting every minute Deadpool held them back. Luke knew that he did not, like the rest of his team mates, want to keep Steve Rogers waiting.

"Because you ain't part of the team, that's why!" Luke exclaimed irritatedly.

"**Hey! Hurtful. Besides, I can totally be a part of the team. I have Wolverine type powers, so I can be you guys 'best-there-is-at-what-he-does' guy. Or girl. Also, I'm sassy and, I could totally be you guys stewardess on this sweet looking quinjet. As long as I don't have to wear a dress…okay I'll wear the dress**"

Most of team members groaned as Deadpool yet again brought up issues that they didn't have time to entertain. Iron Fist, Mockingbird, The Thing and Ms. Marvel all exchanged looks amongst each other as Luke shook his head in frustration yet again. Beside him, a very impatient looking Jessica Jones cradled a restless Danielle while glancing at her watch from time to time. "Where the hell is that babysitter?" she muttered to herself.

_**Babysitter? If she's hot then I call dibs.**_

_What if it's a 'he'?_

…_**I'm not following.**_

"What babysitter?" Mockingbird asked. "I wasn't here when you guys hired a baby sitter"

"It's some super powered girl…she was supposed to be her a minute ago" Jessica observed, as she checked her watch once again. Laurapool was about to launch into a tirade of why they needed her when a voice came calling through the attic of the Mansion where they were. "Hellllooooo? Is anyone here? I was told to come to the attic but I don't really know where I'm going right now…"

_T-that voice…c-c-can it be?_

_**No. No, it's-it's not possible…is it?**_

"**Oh dear Lord**" Laurapool breathed hoarsely, when she saw the figure of Squirrel Girl enter the attic, quickly walking towards them when she saw where they were. "**Squirrel Girl?**"

Jessica looked a tiny bit confused. "You know her?"

"**Umm…no**" Laurapool answered, "**I **_**don't**_** know her from the time when I **_**didn't**_** join the Great Lakes Avengers, **_**didn't**_** fight alongside them a couple of times, and also, **_**didn't**_** get my ass kicked by her…more than once**"

_Yup. All that did not definitely…not happen at all._

_**Crap. Did I forget it was Opposite day again?**_

"Okay, yeah, I have no idea what you just said. Luke", she said, turning to her husband after she gave Squirrel Girl her baby, "I'm ready to go" Scared for her safety and seeing a whole new reason to not stay in the Mansion though, Laurapool was just about to start complaining when Victoria Hand peeked her head out of the quinjet, with an impatient and weary look on her face. "C'mon people! Members of the team that aren't here will just have to miss this one. Let's go!" Recognizing the opportunity, they all quickly made their way into the aircraft, before Wade could form a cogent sentence or object to them leaving. However, just before the jet door closed up, Mrs. Jones stayed back, facing her babysitter and Laurapool, donning a serious glare on her face. "You" she said, addressing Squirrel Girl, "please look after my baby. And you" she said, turning to Laurapool, "I don't care if you're insane. Make sure she watches her, and look out for both of them…and for Laura. You owe her that" Laurapool's face showed that she didn't really want to get into it with Jessica and so she quickly nodded her head.

"You can count on me, Mrs Jones-Cage" Squirrel Girl said confidently as the mother of the baby she held close at the moment, ran into the jet which took off seconds later through a retractable roof. "Wow, you're a good baby, aren't you? Yes you are!" Squirrel Girl cooed, surprised at how happy Danielle was even after seeing her mother go.

"…**Yeah, so, I guess we'll be here together for a while. And I gotta tell you, I am all for being mature and responsible in situation like this…so…you wanna make out?**"

_No, wait, dude! We're supposed to be afraid of her and stuff!_

_**Sorry. We kinda spaced out and forgot, thereby becoming attracted to her.**_

Furrowing her brow, Squirrel Girl gripped Danielle tighter and unconsciously shielded her away from Laurapool. "…So, you're insane?"she inquired humorlessly. "**Well, it's been proved clinically but not mathematically, so…that's something, right?**" Laurapool replied, with a grin that was both nervous and cautious."Who are you again?" The question loomed over Laurapool and it was accompanied by that unrelenting, firm stare of Squirrel Girl's that he remembered fearfully. "**Umm…I'm…uuhhh—**"

"Hey guys, am I late? Hello?...I'm late, aren't I?"

Hearing the voice of Spider-Man coming from downstairs was the best distraction that she could've hoped for, and she didn't waste any time using it. "**Oh dear, Spider-Man is here! I suppose we should go downstairs and tell him that the breakfast club took off without him, all the while trying hard to forget this particular conversation…but not the part about the making out**" Unfortunately, her suggestion did nothing to quell Squirrel Girl's curiosity. "Now look here, missy—" she began, only for Laurapool to suddenly leave to go downstairs before she could be trapped in any corners. Sighing loudly, she took Danielle and also started to make her way down from the attic.

Spider-Man, who at the moment couldn't find or hear anyone, already figured that he had missed the flight chance. He shook his head with a sigh, when he thought about the reason for his tardiness. "Can't believe that there's actually a lame-o villain called Heat-Man, and he wanted to fight me to make a name" he said out loud to himself, recalling the rookie villain's lame single power of shooting mild heat blasts. The arachnid hero knew that he could've just as easily ignored the guy as a threat, but the minute innocents were endangered, his sense of responsibility would never let him leave it untended to, as it were.

'Luke might still be mad, though. Maybe I should be waiting with an affordable and very easily obtainable gift' he thought, as he approached the stairway to go check the attic/quinjet room. '…I wonder if he likes web cartridges'.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of running, coming down the stairs and getting closer. He stopped and braced for the blaring of his spider-sense but it never came. Instead, the figure of Laurapool suddenly appeared bounding down the first flight of stairs, straight at Spider-Man. Behind the mask, his eyes widened in confusion and surprise as Laurapool promptly gripped him by the shoulders, shaking them as she talked. "**Please, don't tell her I'm Deadpool. Please!**" she stressed, and Spidey could see that there was also an anxiety in her eyes too. "Wade, calm down! What're you talking about?"

_Yeah, seriously, what's your problem, man? What's with the scaredy cat act?_

_**Tell me about it. I don't think her beating you up was even in main canon continuity.**_

What is 'main canon continuity'? I do not understand.

_**Uh, it's basically the place where comic book writers ruin characters consistently with stories the readers do not care for.**_

"**She's gonna feed on my soul! Don't let her!**" The sounds of her pleas were as desperate as the shoulder shaking, which Peter had had enough of. "Okay, Wade, you're making me dizzy" he said, as he held her hands at the wrists and brought them down. "Now what are you talking about?"

Laurapool started to speak but was interrupted by the timely arrival of the rodent mutant from the attic. "Now wait a minute missy—who are you really? Mrs. Jones may trust you but that doesn't mean that I have to" Squirrel Girl said as she coddled a giggling Danielle. "Something seems familiar about you—and I don't like it"

The Merc-turned-Girl stood beside Spidey, trying to look as innocent as possible, with a fake smile adorning her face. Surreptitiously, she elbowed the Webslinger in silent exhortation, forcing him to come up with an excuse for her. "Uuhhh…uuhh…you don't have to…y'know, worry about her" he lied, stuttering as he struggled to find a believable fib, unsure of why he was helping Wade. "She's slightly crazed but…uh…she's just…uuhh—"

"**His girlfriend?**" Laurapool quickly interjected, and she could swear that at that very moment that she and Spidey stared at each other, his white bug-eyes seemed to get bigger. "**Yes! I'm his girlfriend!**" she continued, furthering the lie. She then hastily wrapped her arms around a Spidey who stood stiffly with his arms at his side, feeling even more uncomfortable when Laurapool rested her head warmly on his shoulder. "**We're very much in love. And that's why Mrs. Jones said I was insane. Because she knew that I was insane for this hunk o'lovin right here**" she explained, subsequently closing her eyes and pretending to sigh in satisfaction.

_Hmmm. He's kinda outta our league but yeah, I could believe that._

Is there any real need for us to pretend to be in a relationship with Spider-Man? 

_Because Spider-Man's the company's flagship character. After a stint like this, we're never getting cancelled!...Wow, we're comic groupies. I've become my grandmother. _

_**I, personally, just want him to love us for us, and not because we have a smoking hot Laura body.**_

"Oh God, this is creepy" Spidey quietly said to himself. Squirrel Girl, however, seemed to partially buy it. "Oh. Well, if you're in love with a good man like Spider-Man, then I suppose that's nice. I'm a really big fan of yours, by the way" she said to Spider-Man, her features becoming more relaxed and friendly.

"Thanksthat'sgreat" he replied rapidly, concentrating on squirming under Laurapool's freaky embrace.

"Well, why don't we all go into the really grand looking living room?" Squirrel Girl suggested, with a tongue-in-cheek grin. "**Hells yeah! Let's go cuddle, Spideykins!**" Laurapool currently allowed her enthusiasm to get the better of her as she let go of him and suddenly smacked his butt, startling and shocking him at the same time.

_**I'm just gonna come out and admit it….I enjoyed that a lot more than I should've.**_

_Dude, we all did. Probably even Laura, although she'll never admit it._

Laughing lightly, Squirrel Girl and a babbling Danielle pushed past them to lead the way into the luxurious parlor. As soon as she was out of sight, Spidey turned to point a finger in the puppy dog face that Laurapool donned. "Don't do stuff like that ever, Wade! Ever!"

"**Aww, c'mon, Webhead, we gotta sell it! It's not my fault that we're believable as a couple and that we have chemistry!**"

"We don't have _any_ chemistry! At all!"

"…**What do you think our **_**lovey**_** joint name thingy should be? I vote for 'Spiderapool'. Or 'Spidaurapool'!**" Spider-Man's response was to groan in anger and walk off into the living room, mumbling about strange mercenaries, with an uncharacteristic curse here and there. "**I can hear that, y'know**" Laurapool deadpanned, her arms akimbo. "**Well, this going rather well, isn't it? I can't believe I'm joining that long, coveted list of Spider-Man's chicks! Freakin beat ya to it, Norah Winters!**" she said out loud, even though she was talking to her voices.

_Based on how your life has been going…I should've totally seen this coming._

All this because you fear a mutant with squirrel powers? I really do not understand the dynamic of human relationships.

_**Better get in there and play your 'real housewife of Avengers Mansion' bit before that scary, scary rodent chick catches on.**_

"**No problem**" she agreed, entering the living room space and going for Spidey who sat directly in front of the T.V with his legs crossed on the table in front of him, which was adjacent to where Squirrel Girl sat with Danielle. Without saying a word and before Spider-Man could say any of his own, Laurapool went and plopped herself on his lap, encircling his neck with her arms and staring at him with yearning. "**Hey, dude**" she whispered, "**I don't wanna take the writer's word for it. Is this stare yearning enough?**"

"Wade, I am going to give you till the count of ten, to get off my lap" he replied in a harsh whisper, which was unfortunately not quiet enough to stop the babysitter from hearing him. "Um, is everything all right between you two? I hope you're not fighting or anything cuz I can, y'know, give you guys some privacy" she said, in a concerned tone. Just before the arachnid hero opened his mouth to explain it away, Wade interrupted him. "**Oh, don't mind us. Our love for each other sometimes gets aggressive, but that's just how we express it, y'know?**" Without warning, her hands grabbed the tip of his nose and began shaking it back and forth. "**My wittle shnookums woves it when we do that, don't you, shnookums?**"

_**I don't know about you guys, but this feels…right, y'know? It feels right.**_

_I'm just surprised that we make such an awesome seductress. I mean, it's like we're channeling all this 'Basic Instinct' Sharon Stone stuff._

Even with his mask on, Laurapool could feel the glare he had obviously donned, burn right through her before he turned his attention to a still confused Squirrel Girl. "Yeah, my…my 'sweetness' is totally right about that" he forced out, counting the seconds till when it would be over. "That is so sweet!" Squirrel Girl basically squealed as a clearly amused Laurapool smiled at the discomfort Spidey was enduring. "**Eskimo kiss! Here it comes!**" she hollered, hearing Spidey gasp and Squirrel Girl giggle along with Danielle. Suddenly, before she could continue with Operation: Freak Spider-Man out, Laurapool's senses detected the front door of the Mansion closing—which everyone else couldn't hear because the T.V was on—and a familiar smell approaching them. "**Uh oh**" she muttered, knowing exactly who it was.

Wolverine stood in front of all of them, in costume, simply staring at the awkward scene that seemed like it had been frozen in time because nobody moved as they all looked back at him. Peter was the first to break the tension, albeit very unconfidently. "…Logan, buddy…what's, uh…what's going on?" Spidey said, feeling even more uneasy as he met no initial response from the feral mutant. "This isn't…what it…y'know, looks like. Even though it looks pretty bad but—"

"Is that Deadpool controlling Laura's meat suit?" he asked out of the blue, his facial expression still neutral.

Spidey glanced at Wade and saw the 'oh-no-don't-you-f#$%ing-dare-rat-me-out' scowl on her face, but he didn't even want to think about what Logan would do to him if he lied and confessed that he was getting snuggly with his clone-sister. "…Yeah. It's…Deadpool" he admitted, making Logan nod in understanding and Squirrel Girl gasp in realization. "So it's you—Deadpool!" she exclaimed, standing to her feet and holding Danielle closer to her. "You awful, awful man! Why are you in a woman's body?"

_I think you should tell her the truth about how you had always thought about it since junior high. The truth will set you free…after embarrassing you. _

_**I would've loved to have answered the question with sock puppets. Sock puppets: nature's answer to awkward situations.**_

In her haste to stand up, Laurapool fell off Spidey's lap to the floor but quickly got to her feet and sped over to where Logan stood. "**Stay back, dangerous Squirrel Girl! Even if my flake of a boyfriend can't protect me, my brother-cousin-father will!**" Laurapool proclaimed, standing behind Wolverine and using him as a shield. "The things I put up with" Logan lamented, shaking his head as Squirrel Girl continued to glare at the girl using him for cover. "Deadpool is a nasty man and I will not be happy if he is here—especially when there's an adorable little baby present!" Moments later, as if meaning to be a diversion, the doorbell seemed to ring on cue, allowing Laurapool to announce loudly that she would get it before running off, leaving Logan to calm Doreen down and prevent her from further getting worked up by explaining the Laura-Deadpool situation to her.

"**Be there in a second!**" Laurapool called out, relieved that for the moment she wouldn't have to worry about getting her eyes scratched out by the livid rodent babysitter. She was panting as she approached the door and opened it. "**Oh God, N.Y.P.D—thank Galactus that you guys came. There's this crazy Squirrel chick that's…after…me…**"

Trailing off into stunned silence, Laurapool and every single voice that she had in her head, especially Laura, did not believe what they were seeing: Kimura, standing beside a nightmare from the past—a cyborg Dr. Zander Rice.

But…but…he is dead…I…I killed him.

"Oh my dear, how you've grown. You look so…fantastic. Don't look so surprised about our showing up or about you being unable to identify our scents. I disguised them. It'll wear off eventually"

Wade was temporarily shaken, but being who he was, he bounced back in moments. "**Dude…you totally forgot the pizza. Plus**", he said turning to a stoic Kimura "**you're not exactly who I had in mind when I sent myself a stripogram**"

The look on Dr. Rice's face was one of minor amazement. "Hmmm. You seemed to have grasped the concept of wit. Good for you" he said, his gaze narrowed at her. "If it's not too much to ask…may we come in? And may they come in as well?" he asked innocently, grinning as he stepped aside to reveal with a gesture, the sight of numerous Kimura duplicates, standing far behind in the Avengers Mansion front yard.

Oh no…it cannot be…he made more…

_Yup, he did…What a tool._

"**Umm, voices? Current action advise**" Laurapool mumbled.

_Abort!_

_**Abort faster!**_

Run.

"**Huh. Thought for sure someone would've suggested, 'dance'**" Laurapool mused, slowly backing up as the Kimura copies began advancing toward the house, and the mechanical parts of Dr. Rice's body began to hum, as if charging or powering up. "**Y'know, this might be the insanity talking but…this looks like it might hurt a little**"

_**Ya think?**_

_Oh, this is gonna be awesome. Like Takeshi's Castle but with gore. Too bad it's gonna start during the next chapter after this f#$%ing cliffhanger. See ya then, people…_

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

_Yes! The carnage begins with the next chapter. Sorry if any of you expected violence so soon. I personally just couldn't help letting Laurapool run amok in the Mansion. The very fact that it took three months, give or take a few days, to put this up here made me make it extra long and crispy. Hope you guys liked the Laura-Jessica scene. I knew that if I didn't do something like that, Laura as a character would get swept to the side for the whole chapter. This fic is about both Deadpool and Laura. I have to balance it out whenever I can._

_Get prepared for the next chapter! It's Laurapool (or Laura: I'll leave you guessing), Spider-Man (the boyfriend) and Wolverine (the weird, very old uncle) versus the combined forces of a cyborged out Dr. Rice and a #$#load of Kimura's! Sweet Christmas! And who knows? Maybe the New Avengers will make it back in time… Plus, is Dr. Strange still meditating his ass off? He'll be thrown into the fray too. See you, hopefully as soon as I can, people!_


	7. Chapter 7

_I am back! And I come bearing gifts! A brand new chapter the likes of which no one has ever seen!...Or maybe someone has. How the hell am I supposed to know? Anyway, the second arc, "Resurrected pain" comes to an end and it should prove to be epic enough to meet up to you guys' ridiculously high standards. How will Deadpool help Laura when she comes face to face with two of her greatest adversaries? Will he help her evade them once again? Only time will tell…wait, I mean, you'll find out below (Why did I say the other thing?). Strap in and get ready for the mind blowing seventh chapter filled with chills and thrills!...Chills and thrills sold separately. _

_**Chapter seven: World War Laura!...with Deadpool, yay.**_

"Look, Doreen, you gotta calm down. Whatchya got against Deadpool anyway?"

Doreen scowled at Wolverine as he once again tried to get her to calm down. But she wouldn't. Because she knew. She knew that Deadpool was a 'bad, bad man'. She was getting very anxious since finding out a minute ago that the innocent, pretty looking girl whom Logan said was his sister—in a way—was also at the same time the devious mercenary that she had come to regard with caution since the days of his short lived career with the Great Lakes Avengers. "I will not calm down, Logan. Deadpool is an awful person, and someone like him should not be around a baby!" she argued adamantly.

_**I hear that. **_

_Hey! How're you even—how're we here when Deadpool isn't even in the room?_

_**Uhh…out-of-body experience?**_

…_Sounds plausible._

"Wonder what's taking him so long to get the door. Y'think he bailed?" Spider-Man pondered out loud, still sitting on the couch. At that, Logan and Squirrel Girl stopped bickering and turned to look at Spidey, as they both thought about what he had said. "I mean, it's not like he's incapable of doing something like that, is it? Logan, you're his Weapon-X BFF, you should know."

A faint snarl made itself visible on Logan's face. "He better not've, Webs. Cuz even he knows that if he went off without saying nothing, I'd—"

Cut short by a sudden sound, that to all present resembled a beam releasing gathered energy, the three of them were shocked to unexpectedly see the figure of Laura come crashing through the wall that the T.V lay against, landing coincidentally into the Wall crawler, who sensed it coming but was too stunned to react. The force with which Laura's body was thrown with managed to push her and Spidey a couple of feet from the overturned couch that he had just been relaxing on. When they came to a stop, the green eyed brunette was sprawled on the chest of a Spider-Man who was trying not to move too much, seeing as he was already dizzy and shaky.

"**Woof!**" Laurapool suddenly said without moving, due to having the wind knocked out of her. "**That's…that's why I usually fly first class!…hmmm, I…I didn't hear anything. Did I break the Mansion's laugh track?**" By now, both Logan and Squirrel Girl had registered what had just happened, and had come to their aid. "Oh dear, are you all right?" Squirrel Girl asked the both of them worriedly, temporarily forgetting her squabble with the Crimson Comedian. Logan, however, decided to get to the bottom of it without the hand holding. "What the hell happened, Wade?" he barked.

"**I'm fine, thanks for asking**" Laurapool said sarcastically, still lying on Spidey but struggling to prop her upper body with her hands. When she finally did, Spidey had recovered from his slight vertigo and he managed to raise his head up a little so their heads were inches apart. "…Wade…please get your body weight off me. This position…is…y'know, a bit provocative?"

_Yeah it is!_

_**I swear, I just might swoon.**_

"**Aww, you don't have to pretend, Webby bear. I know that you caught me because you care. Hows about we finish up that Eskimo kiss we started?**" she smirked. Groaning, Spider-Man quickly pushed her off, and got up holding his side. The Wall crawler could not help ignore the impassive stare of Wolverine and the some-what confused look on Squirrel Girl, as the hole in the wall that Laurapool had created distracted him. "Wow. He really came through the freakin wall, didn't he?"

"Wade, I'm a need answers, bub!" Logan growled, startling Doreen and making Danielle, who was otherwise mostly quiet, whimper unexpectedly. His insistent demand was met with Laurapool suddenly clutching her head in agony, just after she had risen up. "**Arrrggghh! It feels like someone is trying to cram the whole first season of 'Grey's Anatomy' into my head!**" she wailed, dropping to her knees in pain, with her long dark hair falling all around her head to the floor. "**What's happening?**"

It is me.

"**What? Laura? Why are you doing this?**"Wade asked out loud, confusing the people witnessing their ordeal."**Is it because of that time I annoyed you?**"

_Which is actually all the time?_

_**Is it just me or is the italic voice being more of a bitch today?**_

I cannot allow you to fight a battle meant for me.

The three on-lookers stood watching in anticipation, waiting to see if Wade would pull out of it. They were all worried as to what had happened when they saw Laura's body go limp. Spidey stooped low to check and see if she was okay while Squirrel Girl waited expectantly for him to confirm it. "Wade? Wade, wake up, buddy" he cajoled, turning her over so she was lying on her back. Wolverine by now was seemingly ignoring the rest of them because he had caught a scent, but the nature of it confused him as he thought more about it. "It doesn't make sense" he told himself, prompting the very worried Doreen to turn to him, with a desperate expression. "Logan, what doesn't make sense?" she asked, knowing that she wouldn't like the answer.

"I'm getting the same scent but…it's coming from over thirty people" he explained, not bothering to look at the terrified baby sitter, still preoccupied with the strange nature of the scents he was getting. "I'm also getting another scent that's a bit similar to the others and a second completely different one" As Logan sniffed the air repeatedly trying to find out more, Spider-Man was meanwhile coming to the conclusion that Wade was not coming out of his unconscious state anytime soon. Staring at the face of the beautiful 17 year old, Spider-Man still wondered how the personality of a crazy person like Wade could be stuck in her head. "Uh guys, I don't think that Wade is—"

Laura suddenly sat up, gasping for breath and freaking Spider-Man out in the process. Doreen was at first spooked but quickly felt the fear melt into relief. "Is he alright?" she asked Spidey, keeping her eyes on the teenage clone, whose breathing had by now become regulated and her demeanor calm. "I am fine. It is me, Laura" she suddenly let out, stunning Doreen and Spidey with the sudden change in tone and behavior. Getting up rather quickly, an in control Laura turned her attention to Squirrel Girl. "You must get this baby away from here as quick as possible. There is a panic room situated in the attic." she said, her voice just a little shaky. On someone else, it would be considered nothing worth mentioning, but this was Laura…it meant she was panicking on the inside. "Go!" she urged a confused Squirrel Girl, who because of the general mood held Danielle even closer.

**Hey, Laura! You can't be talkin' to my baby girl like that!**

_Dude, I told you, you can't have a crush on her! She hates you!_

…**I honestly don't see how that's relevant. You know how long I've wanted a rodent superhero woman in my life.**

_**Seriously, I think unrequited love turns us on. Which is admittedly, kinda creepy.**_

"Okay, okay, okay" Doreen said to herself over and over, running up the stairs to go to the attic. Apart from being the resting place of their quinjet, it was also the location of a panic room built specifically for Danielle and whoever was taking care of her. As Squirrel girl disappeared up the first flight, Wolverine took Laura by the shoulders, attempting to inquire what she and Deadpool saw. "What is it, darlin'? What's comin'? I can smell it but I can't place it" Looking into his eyes for several seconds, Laura suddenly unsheathed her claws. "…Kimura" she simply told him.

"WHAT? Why don't these f#$%ers ever stay down?" he growled, unsheathing his own as well. "Why is her scent all over the place?" he asked.

"They have cloned her. I observed well over twenty-five of them. Also, they are accompanied by Dr. Rice"

"What?" Logan exclaimed disbelievingly. "They cloned her? And how is that piece of s#$ Rice guy still alive? You told me he was caught in an explosion way back when you escaped the Facility"

"He has been fitted with cybertronics. For reanimation as well as weaponry purposes" she explained, turning to look at the hole in the wall that her body had come hurtling through.

**I wonder if he has a cybertronic 'short-form-of-Richard'.**

_That's where your mind goes? How professional._

_**Hey dude, leave him alone. It's either he makes lewd comments or he sings Britney Spears' 'I'm a slave for you' all the time.**_

The three of them, stood in the room, glancing about quickly, expecting the worst because the place had gone deathly silent. The sudden calm unnerved all of them especially the arachnid hero who until now, had been overwhelmed temporarily by his Spider sense. Letting go of the head that he had been clutching, he steadied himself as he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. "Whoa. We're in a lot of trouble, aren't we?"

"We are" Laura remarked, closing her eyes and bracing herself for what was coming next. "God, I hate clone sagas" Spider-Man lamented.

And then they came. From all directions, the tiny swarm of lethal clones all of whom were spitting images of Laura's original tormentor, descended on them. In moments the whole place was alive with combat. "Who exactly are we fighting here again? Kimono clones?" Spider-Man asked, flipping over one and delivering a kick to her face as he was upside down in mid air, also punching another at the same time.

**Crap! This is a once in a life time opportunity—to do banter with the Wall Crawler himself and instead we're stuck in here!**

_Where it's safe and not bloody! It feels refreshing to be a coward._

_**This public service announcement was brought to you in part by Cowardice. Cowardice; we would tell you our motto, but we're too scared to.**_

"She is Kimura! She cannot feel pain and only feels impact" Laura offered as she kicked a clone with her toe claw out but only succeeding in sending her to the floor with the force. "And the adamantium ain't workin' either! We need a plan, Webs!" Logan shouted as he kept trying to cut any of them with his claws, only to have them almost immediately shake off the impact, and go at him again.

Spider-Man had just knocked two clones heads together in the air, and landed to web the guns of several of the Kimuras who had been shooting all over the place. "What? Why're you talking to me? I'm too busy wetting my pants!" he told Logan. "Didn't think I'd be fighting Luke Cage type chicks today. That is a genuine surprise."

**Did you hear the way his quip related Kimura's powers to Luke's? Classic! We have much to learn, italic voice san and italic bold voice san.**

_Nobody pay attention to him. Where the hell is Dr. Rice?_

_**C'mon man, don't you know the one rule of jinxing things?**_

_Umm…do not talk about jinxing th—?_

_**No, no, we already did a Fight Club reference. And it was just as bad.**_

Ignoring everything that Deadpool and his voices had said, except for the part about where Dr. Rice was, Laura continued to fight, furiously punching and hitting any of the clones that came her way, but because they could not feel pain and they weren't slowing down, she wasn't doing much to them. On the other hand, Laura had sustained several cuts, bruises and a couple of bullet wounds that for some reason, were healing slowly. Judo throwing a clone that had an arm around her neck, and punching one that came up from behind, Laura's senses detected the aforementioned Dr. Rice coming her way. But before she could even react, he came speeding through the gaping hole in the wall and slammed into her, creating more huge openings as he carried her and blasted through each barrier till they were outside at the back of the Mansion.

"Laura!" Logan cried out as Kimuras piled on him, holding his arms and trying to keep him in place. Without the advantage of his adamantium claws and without them feeling pain, he wasn't doing much more than his clone had. In fact he wasn't doing anything to them at all. "AAAAARRrrgggghh!" he yelled, as the clones holding him stabbed him with knives, seeking to find a weak spot. Seconds later though, webbing engulfed every single one of them that had ambushed him and Spidey swiftly landed next to him. "Oh look, the Mansion is being destroyed in the fight. I never would've seen that coming" Spider-Man jokingly deadpanned as Wolverine started to remove all of the blades still embedded in his body. As more of them tried to attack Logan and Spidey where they were standing, Spider-Man held them back from far, using his webbing. "Logan, we have to go upstairs!" he announced, as the clones kept coming and the ones he had webbed attempted to cut through the mesh. "I actually think I may have an idea!"

_**I really hope the idea he has is an 80's themed costume party. That would rock my socks off!…which would be interesting since I don't wear socks…**_

_For the love of Bertha–how the hell are we doing this? We're supposed to be in Laura's head and she isn't even in this scene!_

_**Hey, I just like to talk. Besides, it's not like this is main canon or anything. Does it matter?**_

"It's about time. I mean, you _are_ supposed to be smart" Wolverine said, pulling the last blade from his body as Spidey unrelentingly covered them from the oncoming horde of murderous duplicates. "Oh, Logan, you say the sweetest things" Spidey rejoined as they ran to the staircase, trying to disregard the bullets whizzing by them on all sides. "So what's the plan, Parker?" Logan inquired as they reached the second floor and proceeded to go to the third. "When Stark rebuilt the Mansion, he may have put in a Bio-EMP" Spidey explained. "And if these clones are freshly made like I think they are, I should be able to adjust the photonic frequencies of the EMP and disrupt their molecular cohesion on a cellular level" Scrambling down a hall on the third floor, Spidey led Logan to a particular door that was metallic. "This should be it; the defense control room. Wait, what are you doing?"

Logan had moved further away from the confused webslinger in the hallway and stood with his back facing him. "I can smell em, Webs. They followed us up here. Go do what you gotta; I'll hold em off long as I can"

"Uhhh, sure, whatever you say" Spidey agreed, opening the door and shutting it behind him. "You f#$%s had better hope that Laura is okay" Logan muttered to himself, just as Kimura clones appeared round the corner, bounding toward him. Roaring as he rushed at them too, his cry was heard even downstairs outside, where Dr. Rice had pinned a seemingly unconscious Laura under his robotic arm.

_Oh no, he's gonna start a monologue; I can feel it._

_**Or he might whisper sweet nothings in our ear, which oddly enough, I find more appealing than a monologue.**_

_Old English is crazy! What the hell is a 'sweet nothing'?_

The look on Dr. Rice's face was one that showed just how satisfying the present scenario was to him. "Laura, Laura, Laura…when will you learn? You can never escape me. And the fact that you tried to, gave me a purpose. A purpose that kept me from dying even though you blew half my body to hell. A purpose that kept life in me, so that on a day such as this, I would extract vengeance from you. Do you hear me, clone? Do you understand why the sword of Damocles that looms over you is about to fall? Do you?"

Expecting a response from her, he was surprised when her eyes stayed close and she didn't make a sound. It slowly dawned on him as he remembered that even though she was tough and resilient, she could be knocked out by severe trauma. Like for example, being forcibly shoved through several walls at great speeds. He laughed to himself as he considered it. "Really Laura? Knocked out cold by that? I would've thought that Kimura and I trained you better than that."

_**Oh God, someone make him shut up! He's like Dane Cook without the humor...no, wait, he's exactly like Dane Cook.**_

_Dude, focus! Laura's unconscious! Things are about to get ugly! Also, I can't believe that it's not butter! Why am I shouting?_

_**Speaking of ugly, where's Deadpool? **_

Just as he was about to say something else, her eyes abruptly opened and she spoke but in a different tone than the one he knew. "**Dude, I'm sorry but…you can't be poised over me like this. What if Spider-Man sees us? I'm his gal, y'know.**" Slightly taken back by the change in her manner, he suddenly doubled over and groaned when an intense pain registered in his lower abdomen and he quickly realized that she had kicked him in the groin. Effortlessly pushing him off, Laurapool scrambled to her feet and cautiously stood over him as he looked angrily up at her, balled up in agony. "**Huh. Guess you don't have a cybertronic 'short form of Richard'. Although, you may have to get one after what I just did. It's too bad that you ain't my bud; I actually coulda hooked you up with one.**"

_Hook him up? What the hell is he talking about?_

_**I don't know but I won't lie; I would be genuinely interested in seeing who this creepy supplier of male genitalia is.**_

With the pain slowly fading, the smirk returned to Rice's face as he held up his robotic arm and pointed it at Laurapool, waiting for the recharge of energy. "Hmm. That is actually interesting. It appears that you have developed some sort split personality while we were apart. Maybe as an escape from all that trauma you experienced at the Facility, perhaps?" he pondered as the energy recharge reached its peak.

Laurapool slowly backed up as the blast grew imminent. "**Hold up, crazy android guy. Maybe we can come to some sort of compromise. If you let me go, I'll let you take me to prom. How does that sound?**" Smiling nervously as Dr. Rice prepared to blast her, they were both bewildered at the sound of scurrying that came out of the blue. Their confusion took on an even greater level when from all around hundreds of squirrels rushed toward Dr. Rice and began to engulf him with their numbers. "What–what is this? Stop! Stop that, you little–arrrrggghhhhhhh!" he screamed, drowning in the hoard of furry rodents that would not let up even though he blasted at them with his beam over and over. By now, the expression of shock on Laurapool's face had been replaced by one of pleasant surprise. "**Well, slap me on top of a girl's upper lip and call me a moustache. Squirrel Girl came through**"

_**Sweet. Now is the time—disgusting imagery by the way—to get revenge…and repay monologue for monologue! Start off with something about the detailed origins and applications of paper and then—**_

_No time for that now! The others are still inside with the Kimura clones, including the oblivious Dr. Strange!_

"**Oh crap, Strange.**" Laurapool paused as she remembered the person who _might_ be able to help her and Laura, before turning to run back toward the Mansion. Entering in through the huge hole in the back wall, she made her way to the initial scene of the fight—the almost completely ruined living room—and was met with a good number of angry Kimura clones, some of whom were being freed from webbing traps by others. Seeing their primary target in their midst made them shift their focus onto her as they threateningly started to walk gradually toward her. "**Seriously, I've had dreams like this but I freely admit…this is not how they turned out**" she croaked out, wondering how she was going to face a whole group of impervious killers.

_**This would be an excellent time to try that 'burying your head in the sand' bit, made popular by ostriches and scaredy cats.**_

_Or crying. Crying will do. Fainting's even better. And it won't ruin the ozone like crying does._

Just as she was about to give up hope, the silence of the battle ravaged room was replaced by a high pitch whine that got louder and was subsequently accompanied by a burst of red light that was gone as soon as it had appeared. Thinking at first that it was a ploy of the intruders, Laurapool waited in vain and saw that nothing had happened, even to the equally astounded clones who didn't seem to know what the light and noise were meant for. It was then that the voice of Spider-Man came via the intercom that was connected throughout the whole house. "This is your Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man on 90.5 Mansion radio, bringing you the biggest hits of the week such as '_stop trashing our house_' and '_the Bio-EMP just rendered the clones vulnerable for a time_', all hit singles from the New Avengers current album titled '_We're about to kick your butts_'. Enjoy" Having stopped to listen to him, the Kimura clones were clearly sobered by the announcement. "**Oh yeah. My pseudo-boyfriend rocks out loud, doesn't he?**" Laurapool stated, as the claws from each arm unsheathed.

Preparing to take on the now tentative room full of Kimuras, Laurapool was not surprised when several seconds later she heard the familiar grunt of Logan who having just come down the stairs, was making his way toward her. Laurapool turned to regard him as he stood beside her; his uniform was completely torn and ruined from the waist up and he was covered in a sufficient amount of blood. Making a face with a furrowed brow, Wade's nose wrinkled even as the pungent smell of gore on Logan was greatly exaggerated due to Laura's senses. "**Dude, you smell like a dead fart that's wearing skunk cologne!**"

"Nice to see you too, Wade" Logan said in reply, not taking his roving eyes off of the horde of clones who appeared to have been stalemated by the Bio-EMP. Spider-Man was the last to join them even as he came down the stairs in his usual agile, acrobatic fashion. "Logan, did you kill everyone up there?"

"…Might've, Webs"

"Seriously?" Spidey cried out incredulously. "They were still living people, man!"

Logan was obviously unimpressed with the wall crawler's misplaced care for lab creations that had been trying to kill them no more than a couple of minutes back. "Hey, if any of them happen to live, then good for them" he stated, popping his claws out with the distinctive '_snikt_' sound accompanying the action. "Just promise me you'll try not to kill any of these ones?" Spidey pleaded as he assumed his battle ready stance.

"**Well, I'd love to stay and casually chat about the moral implications of the diametrically opposed choices of letting killers live or ganking them, but…I have to go see if a certain Dr. Strange is not tiny bit size pieces by now**"

"I assumed that the doc could handle any of these wanna-be's with his magic whammy but, yeah, maybe you should do that" Logan said, agreeing with Wade. Unexpectedly, before Laurapool could fully maneuver her way to the staircase in hopes of finding Strange, Logan's hoarse voice in the form of a battle cry came sooner than she thought, plunging the room into chaos once again as he and Spider-Man clashed with the multitude of clones.

_Daddy, is that bad, bad man called Logan going to kill all those people?_

_**Yes, he will, angel. Y'know why? Cuz Mr. Logan's unhappy…and compensating for a tiny 'short form of Richard'. Now, what say we talk about the fact that you've started noticing boys more? Cuz I'm sure—**_

"**Okay, it's getting too creepy now, even for me. And I've kinda been fantasizing about my own body**" Laurapool stated, confessing her escapades as she raced up the stairs, struggling to find her way to the hallway that led to Strange's door.

_**Really? ...Which one?**_

Ignoring the voice's question, she inwardly hoped that the person whom she expected to be there, would not have laid a hand on the former Sorcerer Supreme yet. In fact, she hoped that Strange was being used as bait. At least that would mean that he was safe. But knowing Kimura—because Laura knew Kimura—Laurapool figured that she was getting her hopes up for nothing even as she reached the specific corridor. What she saw when she got there didn't surprise her, but it still managed to chill even her a little. Down the hall, right in front of Strange's door, stood a calm and smiling Kimura, playing with a knife ever so slowly as she tauntingly twisted it about with one hand, a defiant action that stopped the merc infused teen in her tracks.

Deciding to break the tentative silence that superseded their impromptu meeting, Laurapool spoke up. "**Wow. I gotta say…you twirling that knife like that…it's incredibly hot. Very Angie Jolie of you**." The joke that found its way out of the "possessed" clone, did the impossible and actually threw Kimura off for a moment. She had expected the little miss adamantium claws witch to panic at her arrival, but somehow, she had been taking it in stride since they raided Avengers Mansion. Which in turn made her very, very angry.

…Nnnggghhh…wait…what is…what is happening?

_Uh oh, looks like the person who's got first dibs on this body is back._

_**Wait…Julian is here?**_

_No, you idiot! Laura's awake!...And why does Julian get first dibs? So his "hands can rove all over her body?"_

_**I don't know much about superhuman ethics but seriously…that was cruel.**_

"**Settle down, Laura. Seriously, I got this**" she whispered, hoping that the recently awakened owner of the meatsuit would listen and let her act. It seemed as though the place had gone quieter and the sound of her feet on the floor as she slowly made her way towards Laura's former handler, seemed to be a thousand times louder than usual. "So, kid…how did you get to be so funny?" Kimura suddenly spat out.

"**Took an Improv class, Senora. I was thinking of taking my show on the road because, hey…if Dane Cook can do it…**" By now, Laurapool had come to an abrupt stop again, after halving the distance between them. Kimura grinned viciously at her, wanting nothing more than to stuff the clever retorts down the teen clone's throat. It irritated her to no end to think that Laura had somehow healed and become like a real person. It…disgusted her. "I had a feeling that you would try to save Dr. Strange. You're trying to be selfless, aren't you? Well, being selfless is wrong and I'm going to have to f$#ing punish you, and kill Strange in front of you. I'm gonna make you wish you'd never been made" Kimura said, hatred oozing from her voice as it came out low and intoned.

"…**But that means that I still get two **_**more**_** wishes, right? Then I'm definitely gonna wish for a puppicorn. Which is a half unicorn, half puppy thing…that breathes fire**" The snikt of Laura's claws sliding out reverberated throughout the corridor. Expectant of the angry controller to attack at any time, Laurapool started to feel a weak Laura fight to take back control of her body, albeit failingly. Even though Wade could feel Laura's obvious weak mind, he knew that it would get stronger very fast. Right now though, Laura's mind was the mental version of groggy. "**Laura…let me do this**" Laurapool said under her breath, hoping that she would be allowed to fight.

Why…why do you want to fight my battles for me?

_**He's always loved a good chick fight. I guess now, he gets to be right in the midst of it.**_

_I think…I think that this is him…being noble. Too bad that it's against a chick that we can't spike, even with adamantium claws._

"Any last words, c#$?" Kimura asked, knowingly prepared to kick the crap out of the clone. "**Yes, I do. Insert cool Samuel L. Jackson speech from Pulp Fiction here**" was Laurapool's responsive quip, after which, they both simultaneously went rushing at each other. For the person of Wade, presently in charge of the reins of the body that both he and Laura occupied, time seemed to move slowly…and lot more so after Kimura leapt up angrily, with all the intention of sinking her wielded knife into the flesh she knew was possessed of a healing factor. Thinking fast with her aggressor descending on her in fury, Laurapool was able to jump at the precise moment, extending a kick with her right that caught the other woman in the stomach. The precise move which might've slowed anyone down and at most caused internal damage to the organs, was only able to knock Kimura to the ground unceremoniously, seemingly having no visible effects. "**Oh yeah. You're indestructible and you don't feel pain…I totally spaced on that**" Laurapool admitted as her opponent stood up.

_**Oh no! We're gonna die! And I'm only, like, a week from retirement!**_

Slow her down temporarily and run! That is our only option, Wade!

"**No, it's not!**" she maintained, even as Kimura menacingly came toward her, this time at a walking pace. Before Laurapool knew what was happening, the knife was swiftly coming down in a vicious swipe. Barely managing to block it with her claws, she staggered back as she was continuously slashed at over and over by her antagonist, whose speed was something that Wade started to grow wary of. Metal clashed against metal for minutes as Kimura sought to find a weak, poorly defended spot but Laurapool managed to unwaveringly keep up with her until an unforeseen cut tore through her midsection. Pain gripped her body as she clutched at the wound and fell to the floor. The wound caught her attention again seconds later when she realized that it was not healing as quick as it should. "Adamantium knife tipped in some stuff that slows down your regeneration. Boy, am I gonna have fun with it while I'm torturing you" Kimura ranted as she towered over a weakened Laurapool, who seemed to be losing a lot of blood.

"**I don't suppose promising to go with you to your Prom would make you stop, would it? It's probably for the best anyway; nobody would ever believe that I would let you bring my milkshake to the yard**" she jibed without looking at the woman above her, who was planning on doing horrible things to the clone. Then out of the blue, the pain that normally accompanied Laura trying to take control of her body had started and had even gotten worse than it had been before. Struggling to resist a mentally strong Laura, Wade fought to stay in control despite the fact that he was losing his grip and being edged out gradually.

_It's now or never, Wade! Let Laura have a crack at it. Maybe she can salvage the situation._

_**Yeah, just let it go, dude! Let it go!**_

"…**Nahh**" Laurapool decided, suddenly springing into action, using the remainder of her energy to leap at the startled Kimura and rapidly pin her to the floor. Raising her right hand and dangling it over the malicious woman's face in a flash, she promptly popped her claws, maintaining the tips no more than a hair's breadth away from Kimura's eyes. "What the f#% are you doing, you bitch?" the former handler inquired angrily, though she was still scared enough not to move an inch.

"**Seriously, it's like you have super Tourette's. And what **_**I'm**_** doing? Just stalemating you**" Laurapool said, with confidence in her voice. The pain she was feeling, however, was taking its toll and she had to pause a moment to compose herself, briefly hearing only their heavy breathing. "**As I was saying…I've fought a guy like you before. He was kinda invulnerable too. But just like all you other invulnerable douches, he had one weak spot: the eyes. Even if you were created by the power of imagination in a lab reminiscent of the sets on Barney, eyes still have to be like…well, like how eyes are. So, I guess they really are the windows to the soul…and I can certainly let yours out by piercing through them…uh, that last line kinda sucked. Mind if I take another crack at it?**" Itching to make a move but unsure of what the clone might do to her, Kimura simply relayed her feelings through a huge snarl on her face and a glare that could set fire to ice.

_Wait, he's right! It was in Suicide Kings #5–when he fought Tombstone! That was a good miniseries._

_**Mehh. I only got a speaking role in it. Like always.**_

Relief poured out of Laurapool, when she realized that the whole ordeal was finally over because of what she had done. The fact that the big, bad Kimura had actually admitted defeat by failing to respond to the claws in her face caused the green eyed girl to exhale deeply, in a calming manner, which she almost immediately discarded when a particular string of thoughts flitted across her mind. The expression on her face turned grim and her contemplation was suddenly interrupted by someone who knew exactly what she was thinking about.

Wade…no…we…cannot…we _should_ not…

'**Why not? I've seen all what she did to you. She deserves it. Plus, you know that she's just gonna keep clamoring for your neck, Laura.**' His thoughts were loud and clear to her which surprised Laura a bit. She could not remember a time when his two voices were not the ones speaking on behalf of him and what was going on in his mind. But presently, it was relatively silent; just the two of them in her head. '**All I gotta do is fist down and your claws'll be tickling her brain. Whaddya say?**' Over the next few seconds, Wade could feel Laura struggle not to take back control and finish it herself. He had never seen—not even remembered—Laura feel animosity towards anyone like she did toward this woman who had tortured her for years just because she could. It was probably why what Laura said to him next, shocked him.

…No…that is what they want…it is what _she_ wants…for me to be a killer…and I will not give her that satisfaction. It is my life…I choose what I want.

'…**Okay**' Admittedly disappointed, Wade was still happy that Laura had made a choice, not because it made the most sense or because it was the right thing to do; she did it because that was what she wanted. She was finally learning that she was in control of her life, and that all decisions people expected her to make were up to her, and her alone. Laurapool turned her attention back to the furious Kimura, who had started to squirm underneath her. "**You may not know it now, but…your enemy actually saved your life**."

"Either kill me or go f#% yourself in the c%$ with a knife, clone whore" she raged through gritted teeth. "**Seriously, stop…you're turning me on**" Wade shot back at her, keeping up the bravado but still unaware of how the situation was going to end.

With nobody moving at the moment and Laurapool feeling the receding of Laura's consciousness as it no longer wanted to be put in the forefront, they were both shocked when the door at the end of the corridor opened –and Dr. Strange stepped out. "By the Eye of Agamotto…" was all that escaped the doctor's mouth as he surveyed the scene before him; two women on the floor covered in blood and one of them poised over the other with claws directly in her face. The one on top—whom he recognized to be Laura—suddenly took her eyes off the woman beneath her and looked at him with a smile on her face. "**Hey, doc. A little help?**"

"Deadpool? What is going on? Who is that?"

"**My would-be prom date**" she pseudo clarified, looking back at the woman underneath her. "**I can't believe I was gonna let you get to second base! Trying to kill me hereby revokes all second base privileges!**" Kimura couldn't tell which one made her feel worse: not being able to shove her stalemate up her ass and beat the crap out of her, or having to listen to the clone talk to her annoyingly with the knowledge that she had won.

_That is genuinely odd. He usually doesn't exclude people who try to kill him from his 'potential booty call' list._

_**I guess beggars **_**can**_** be choosers. Ugly, insane beggars, no less.**_

Strange was now at Laurapool's side, having performed a quick aura spell on the woman that his most recent patient had pinned to the floor. What he saw when he looked at Kimura's personality, sickened him so much that he winced visibly when he felt it. All he could feel from her was pure hate; a hate that was so perverse that it didn't matter to the bearer of such an emotion that it was without justification. She actually did not care that her hate had no reason. She was a true monster.

"Such…such hate…who is this person?"

"**Laura's biggest fan…and I mean biggest fan in the sense that she wants to make her suffer**." Kimura didn't have time to question the fact that Laura just curiously referred to herself in the third person, before she was cut out of her thoughts by the former weapon suddenly standing up and ceasing to dangle her claws over her vulnerable eyes. Warily propping her body up a bit by leaning on her elbows, she at least knew that Dr. Strange was dangerous to her, despite any physical invulnerability she possessed. Having him stand over her with the teenage clone beside him to influence his decision, unnerved her more than she thought possible.

_I bet we look so frickin badass right now, looming over her like this._

_**You know what would be even more badass? Twitting about it.**_

…_I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one._

"…What do you want to do" Strange asked grimly. Sheathing her claws in a rather dramatic manner, Laurapool paused for a bit while looking at her fallen and submissive antagonist. "**Well, **_**I**_** wanna see if I really do have three wishes so I can use one to get my freakin Puppicorn. But first…I wanna send Little Miss Homicide here on a sweet ass vaykay. I have it on good authority that one of your outstanding customers—The Hulk—had a delightful time at the magical crossroads, hintedy-hint-hint**." "…Understood" Strange affirmed before waving his hands around while doing the incantations that he required. He knew that he couldn't go by the book for this one. By the time the spell had begun to take effect, Kimura had finally had it up to her limit in keeping silent. "You're so f%king dead, sweetheart. So c$#t f^%king dead!" she yelled, as she faded away into nothing, taken to a new dimensional plane.

None of them realized how long the silence had gone on for before Strange finally spoke up. "…You know…we can't leave her there forever." Strange's expression grew bemused when he looked over at Laurapool and realized that she was heavily pouting. "**Well I think we should, doc…**" she said, folding her arms and deepening her scowl. "**…She totally lied about the wish thing.**"

X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23 X23

"Seriously, Spidey is right: we can't have nice things."

Luke Cage looked around as repairs to the Mansion had already gotten underway. Steve Rogers had really hooked up the New Avengers with standard service from Damage Control–which was the reconstruction firm that specialized in repair of property that was damaged in superhuman conflicts–and it really made things a lot easier because the Mansion kept getting constantly destroyed anyway. Looking at the lab boys from Stark Resilient as they carried a violent Dr. Rice away as well as the bodies of some of the clones made from the woman Logan had told him was called "Kimura", Luke could barely imagine that he and the team were only gone for some hours. It was a bit hard to accept Strange's explanation of what happened to the original when he was asked. Cage doubted that this so called Kimura could just escape from Deadpool and Strange, who was like one of the damn best sorcerers on the planet. He suspected that they had…taken _care_ of her, like what everyone else from the rest of the New Avengers expected, but he just hoped and trusted that whatever they did, it was not too stretching of the good guy rules.

Luke could tell that it was Logan who walked up to him as he continued to survey the scene. "How ya doin, Logan? You good?" he asked, wondering why he even expected different from a man with a healing factor. "Yeah, I'm good. How's your baby?" the short hairy mutant inquired.

"Your clone/sister made the right call under pressure, getting the nanny to take her to the panic room. How did she even know about it, by the way?"

"She asked to see tha'schematics of the place. Kept saying that it was possible that it come under attack given the number of times it does. Thought I was just obliging her" Logan revealed, admitting that even he wrote her off initially. Turning his gaze to the scientists as they transported the corpses, Logan simply grunted. Unfortunately for him, Cage noticed it. "Wasamatter, man? You feeling a little guilty over those clones that you had to kill? They were gonna kill you, man. You had no choice"

"…I coulda found a way, bub"

"No you couldn't have" Cage insisted, trying to drive his point home. "Besides, didn't the geeks say that the clones were crude copies that were lacking certain human functions or whatever? They probably couldn't be helped" At that statement, Logan now focused on Laura who at the moment was sitting alone at a far corner in the backyard. "…That's what people said about her" came the Canadian mutant's voice, after Luke had joined him in looking at Laura from where they were standing. Luke couldn't help but feel a little pity for the girl. "It's too bad that she doesn't have a friend or someone she can relate to that can help her through this kind of stuff" he observed, thinking about the fact that she must feel real lonely.

Logan shocked even himself when he realized that he disagreed with Cage. "Y'know, before I woulda been with you on that one, but I don't know…" he contemplated, trailing off as he saw Laura gaze into the distance, most likely talking to Deadpool, "…I think she does have a friend."

_Wow, Wade actually had a serious moment with you and the Kimura chick when we were gone? Cuz that doesn't sound like him._

_**Finally! Why the hell did it take Logan so long to build up to the '**_**she-does-have-a-friend**_**' segue that introduced us?**_

Having learnt from experience that engaging Wade's voices was sometimes more pointless than engaging the man himself, a presently in-control Laura simply opted to talk to the real him for a change. "You seem to have made a habit of saving my life" she stated, with a tiny part of her tone voicing out the implied humor she found in her words. "I…I thank you, Wade"

…**I can't believe that I don't have my Puppicorn thing! It would've been awesome, and-and I would've named her Buttercup!**

Laura swiftly went from her trademarked neutral expression to a slightly peeved one. "…I believe that that is what people who frequently interact socially call '_ruining the moment_'" she pointed out.

**Oh yeah. Sorry…Why do I have this urge to go to a Prom?**

_**I don't know about you but…didn't this whole chapter come off as a bit boring and anti-climactic?**_

_Yeah, sure and you breaking the fourth wall for the umpteenth time is _so_ much more innovative._

_**I'm pretty sure the anti-social dorks who read this and spend their free time making love to their computers would disagree with your harsh sarcasm.**_

Sighing in exasperation, Laura simply decided to let her mind wander a bit and forget about what had just transpired. For some reason that she was not fully aware of, Wade being with her made the knowledge of the situation easier to bear. It was an unusual thing for her and it felt even stranger when she realized that she still that Wade had been annoying and still was. In the end, she made up her mind to not question it but to reap the benefit of this unorthodox feeling she was having. It…it made her feel…as though she might finally be able to experience happiness.

Notwithstanding, there was one thing that she couldn't help but think of, one thing that plagued her mind even now. A decision that had come back so quickly to haunt her, one that she turned over in her mind as she continued to regard the bustle of activity went on before her at a steady, somewhat comforting pace. She didn't know exactly when she suddenly blurted out her thoughts; compulsively speaking was not something that was a usual problem. But she did, and significant or not, she had said it and could not take it back.

"…I really wanted to kill her…I still do."

Laura's confession didn't faze Wade in the least. "**…Yeah. I could tell**" he assured her, speaking from killer to killer. With a part of her glad that he understood, Laura drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, for some reason only slightly minding the fact that Wade's voices had decided to plunge into yet another argument. She quickly resumed paying them no attention because at that moment, there was a turmoil in her mind…but a calm in her heart.

END.

_I do not want to imagine myself writing something like that again. Do you know how much of a challenge weaving that plot was?...Too bad though; I'm most likely gonna do it again soon. I hoped you liked the end to the 'Resurrected Pain' arc and thanks for going along with the ride, even though it spanned several months. I don't even deserve reviews with how long I've taken. Honest to God, School made me do it._

_Next chapter: Laura and Wade return to Utopia (it's obvious that they'd get kicked out of the Mansion, duh) and something psionic-y happens. Wade's mind starts to jump from person to person on Utopia, and everybody he "possesses" is trapped with him in their mind, in their own little mind setting, while the person's body wreaks havoc on the island! (That means Wade will get to use his body yet again! Yay!) And what happens when you add Laura—who still has Deadpool's two voices and a feeling of responsibility—into the mix? You get one hell of a time! Wade won't visit every mind so…if and when you review, let me know who you want to get a taste of the Pool!_


End file.
